The Comparative Effects of Transdermal and Intramuscular Diclofenac for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Aims and Objectives: To compare the analgesic effectiveness of transdermal diclofenac patch and intramuscular diclofenac in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. To compare the adverse effects of transdermal Diclofenac patch and intramuscular diclofenac. Methods: Sixty ASA I and II patients of either sex aged eighteen to sixty years ready for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were enclosed during this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups, A (n = 30) received transdermal diclofenac patch (100 mg) three hours before surgery B (n = 30) intramuscular diclofenac (75 mg) was given forty five minutes before surgery. Postoperative pain was assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Adverse effects were noted over a period of twelve hours. Patients with VAS score greater than 3 received intravenous tramadol 2mg/ kg to relieve pain. Results: In each group the VAS scores were higher for ten hours post surgery. There was no significant difference in the surgical pain in both the groups. There was no significant difference in both the groups statistically for the need of rescue analgesia. Erythema was observed in group A patients whereas pain at injection site and rubor was observed in group B who received the injection diclofenac.Conclusion: Diclofenac skin patch and IM injection are unit comparable in terms of effectiveness for pain relief in surgical laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients. Transdermal patch is thought of as an efficient, non-invasive and value effective means of managing surgical pain.