Effect of Preoperative Dexamethasone on Postoperative Pain in Patients Undergoing Tonsillectomy

Abstract

Tonsillectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide. Postoperative pain remains a significant problem for patients undergoing tonsillectomy and is the most typical reason for readmission after the procedure. We conducted the present study to investigate the efficacy of a single dose of dexamethasone administered intravenously before tonsillectomy on postoperative pain in a group of patients undergoing cold dissection tonsillectomy, using a standardised anaesthetic and surgical procedure.It was a prospective study done in the Department of ENT in a tertiary care centre in eastern India, from 1 st September 2017 to 31 st August 2019 (2 years). Subjects included in the study were patients who attended the OPD of ENT of the tertiary care centre in eastern India, with a history of throat pain,difficulty in deglutition, mouth breathing, snoring. Tonsillectomy operation was recommended to the patients who fit the inclusion criteria. A hundred patients were selected for the study and divided randomly into two groups. Patients in group A (50 patients) were administered preoperative intravenous dexamethasone (0.15 mg/kg)after the induction of anaesthesia, and Group B patients (50 patients)were not administered dexamethasone along with other drugs.RESULTS: A hundred patients were enrolled after excluding the patients not fulfilling the selection criteria. The majority of patients were female, with the majority patients between 9–19 years. There was a noteworthy decreased mean pain score postoperatively of Group A on the first, third, and fifth day. (p-value = < 0.001).The results of this study suggest that a single preoperative injection of dexamethasone for patients undergoing tonsillectomy by cold dissection method significantly reduced postoperative pain.