Comparison of Preemptive Analgesic Effects of Intravenous Ketorolac and Oral Pregabalin in Patients Undergoing Mandibular Fracture Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Preemptive analgesia is one of the techniques to manage postoperative pain, which increases patient satisfaction and decreases the duration of hospitalization. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the pain relief achieved by preoperative intravenous ketorolac and oral pregabalin in patients undergoing surgery for mandibular fractures.

In the present clinical trial, 60 patients with unilateral fractures of the mandible were randomly assigned to two groups. In group A, intravenous injections of ketorolac 30 mg and in group B, pregabalin 150 mg capsules were administrated one hour preoperatively. The severity of pain was determined using a visual analog scale (VAS) up to 24 hours postoperatively. Finally, the total doses of an opioid analgesic (pethidine) prescribed for each patient in mg during the first 24 hours and the time for the request of the first analgesic dose in minutes were recorded for each patient. Then, their means were compared between the two groups.

Maximum pain severity was experienced immediately after surgery, which decreased gradually during the 24-hour postoperative period (P < 0.0001). The mean severity of pain immediately after regaining consciousness and the mean pain score during the 24-hour postoperative period were lower in the pregabalin group than in the ketorolac group (P < 0.0001). In the ketorolac group, a slightly higher dose of the opioid was administered; however, the difference was not significant (P > 0.05).

The oral administration of pregabalin 150 mg one hour preoperatively was more effective than the intravenous administration of ketorolac 30 mg in relieving postoperative pain.