Comparative Evaluation of Two Doses of Etoricoxib (90 mg and 120 mg) as Pre-Emptive Analgesic for Post-Operative Pain Relief in Mandibular Fracture Surgery Under General Anaesthesia: A Prospective, Randomised, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE

This trial investigated the post operative analgesic efficacy of oarl etoricoxib 90 mg and 120 mg and a placebo in mandibular fracture pain model.

METHODS

A total of 63 adult patients with mandibular fractures who were scheduled to undergo maxillofacial surgery were randomly allocated to receive etoricoxib 90 mg, etoricoxib 120 mg and a placebo 1 hour before the surgery. Patients were followed-up till 24 hours after the surgery. Duration of analgesia, intra-operative and post-operative analgesic requirement, pain score, post-operative patient satisfaction and adverse effects were measured.

RESULTS

The baseline demographic parameters were similar in all the groups. Duration of analgesia was longer in both the E120 (6.00±0.816 hours) and E90 (4.37±1.008 hours) groups (p<0.05) as compared to the placebo group (2.60±0.821 hours). Mean difference of duration of analgesia between E120 and E90 was 1.62 (95% confidence interval: 0.234-3.484; p>0.05). Post-operative pain intensity was significantly lower in both the E120 and E90 groups as compared to the C group. Both the etoricoxib groups required less intra-operative (p=0.002) and post-operative (p=0.001) analgesic supplementation as compared to the placebo group. The patient satisfaction score and rate of occurrence of significant adverse effects were similar among all the three groups.

CONCLUSION

Etoricoxib 90 mg is equally efficacious to etoricoxib120 mg with a similar side effect profile in a severely acute setting.