A comparative study of efficacy and safety of lornoxicam versus tramadol as analgesics after surgery on head and neck.

To assess efficacy and safety of lornoxicam as analgesic after surgery on head and neck in comparison to tramadol. Forty five patients undergoing operations on head and neck were recruited and randomly assigned to two parallel groups-lornoxicam and tramadol, both given intramuscular on the first post-operative day followed by oral tablets for the consecutive 4 days. Treatment was given single blind. 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and wound tenderness assessed by a 3-point ordinal scale were the primary efficacy parameters. Use of rescue medication and percentage of subjects having at least 50 % pain relief by 48 h were also compared as secondary parameters. The groups were comparable at baseline regarding age, sex and VAS score. There was steady decline in VAS pain score from baseline to study end in both the groups, indicating good analgesic efficacy with either drug. Between groups comparisons of VAS score showed no significant difference at any time point. Between groups comparisons of wound tenderness also showed no significant difference. Five patients on lornoxicam and one patient on tramadol experienced at least 50 % pain relief at 48 hours compared to baseline while five patients from the lornoxicam group and eight from the tramadol group required rescue medicine. The tolerability of lornoxicam appeared to be significantly superior to tramadol, with less number of patients experiencing adverse drug reactions. Lornoxicam is safe, effective and comparable to tramadol for relieving postoperative pain after operations on head and neck.