The Effect of Dexamethasone on Postoperative Pain in Patients After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of a single dose of IV dexamethasone on postoperative pain in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The outcome will be measured in the terms of mean pain score. Study design and settingThis is a prospective study. We did a randomized control trial to compare the outcome in two groups. This study was conducted in the Department of Surgery, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, from December 2021 to May 2022. The total duration of the study was six months. MethodologyA total of 160 patients were randomly divided into group A and group B. We performed laparoscopic cholecystectomies on all the patients under standard general anesthesia. In group A (control group), 5 mL of normal saline was injected intravenously at the time of induction of anesthesia. In group B, the dexamethasone group, the inj. dexamethasone with a dose of 0.1 mg/kg diluted in 5 mL normal saline was given intravenously at the time of induction of anesthesia. Postoperatively, the median pain score was measured using visual analog scale (VAS) at 2, 6, 12, and 24 h on a specially made proforma. The results were further stratified according to gender and age. ResultsThe postoperative VAS in group B was significantly low compared with group A when measured at 2, 6, 12, and 24 h. It means that the median pain score was markedly less in the study group than in the placebo one, and it was statistically significant (p<0.05). ConclusionAdministration of a single dose of dexamethasone preoperatively in laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients is effective to control postoperative pain.

Impact of Dexamethasone in Improving Outcomes of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Case- Control Study

“…In a recent similar study by Jamil and Qaisar (2022) on 160 patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia. They concluded that the mean pain score was significantly lower in the group of laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients dosed with a single dose of dexamethasone at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg intravenously at induction of anesthesia than in placebo group and thus can be considered effective for postoperative pain control [21]. In another study by Rabie and Abdelfattah (2022) involving sixty patients, they concluded that intravenous infusion of 0.6 μg/kg/hour of dexmedetomidine before anesthesia induction attenuated the hemodynamic stress response as well as PONV incidence, and postoperative analgesic requirements in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy [22].…”