Effect of preemptive ibuprofen and dexketoprofen on postoperative pain after septorhinoplasty

In septorhinoplasty patients, postoperative comfort is as important as postoperative results. Intravenous non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are playing an increasingly large role in analgesia, antiinflammation, and antipyresis in the hospitalized setting. The aim of this study is to assess the preemptive analgesic effects of intravenous ibuprofen and dexketoprofen on postoperative pain in patients undergoing septorhinoplasty. This study was performed with 76 patients who underwent open septorhinoplasty between 2016 and 2017. The patients were separated into two groups; Group D (n=46) received preemptive intravenous dexketoprofen (50 mg), and Group I (n=30) received preemptive intravenous ibuprofen (800 mg). A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess pain at the 30 th minute, as well as the first, second, sixth, twelfth, and twenty-fourth hours after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups for sex, age, weight, height, ASA class, anesthesia, and surgery duration. VAS scores gradually decreased between 30 minutes and 24 hours in both groups and this decrease was statistically significant in both groups (Group D; p <0.001, Group I; p <0.001). The mean VAS scores in the same periods were lower in Group I at all times, but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). This study indicated that both ibuprofen and dexketoprofen had similar analgesic efficacy. Clinicians can use these two drugs interchangeably by comparing their side effects and costs.