A COMPARISON BETWEEN KETOROLAC AND DICLOFENAC IN LAPAROSCOPIC STERILIZATION

We compared ketorolac and diclofenac for the prevention and treatment of post-operative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic sterilizati on. Fifty ASA I or II women were allocated randomly to receive either diclofenac 75 mg or ketorolac 30 mg intramuscularly 30-90 min before g eneral anaesthesia. Pain scores were assessed half-hourly in the recov ery room and then at 2 h and 4 h in the ward. In the recovery room, pa in was treated with a second dose of the study drug, followed by paren teral pethidine if necessary. Four patients in the diclofenac group an d five patients in the ketorolac group requested no analgesics after s urgery. Fifteen patients from each group had satisfactory analgesia af ter the second dose of study drug. Pain scores were similar between gr oups at all times. The median (range) initial pain score in the recove ry room was 5 (0-9.5) in the diclofenac group and 5 (1-9) in the ketor olac group. Pain at the injection site was more common after diclofena c than ketorolac (12 vs. 3, P < 0.05). In conclusion, both intramuscul ar diclofenac and ketorolac were relatively ineffective in controlling the pain after laparoscopic sterilization. The drugs were equally wel l tolerated, but more patients complained of pain at the injection sit e after diclofenac.