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Efficacy of 10 % Sucralfate Ointment in the Reduction of Acute Postoperative Pain After Open Hemorrhoidectomy: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

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Abstract

Background

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of 10 % sucralfate ointment in the reduction of acute postoperative pain after open hemorrhoidectomy.

Methods

A total of 48 patients (24 men and 24 women) between 20 and 70 years of age who underwent open hemorrhoidectomy were included in this prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial and were randomly divided into two groups (24 in each group), receiving either sucralfate ointment or placebo immediately after surgery and then every 12 h for 14 days. The primary outcome measure was pain intensity measured by a visual analogue scale at different time points after hemorrhoidectomy.

Results

The sucralfate group had significantly less pain than the placebo group at 24th h and the 48th h after hemorrhoidectomy (4 ± 1.14 vs 5.08 ± 0.97; P = 0.001 and 3 ± 0.72 vs 4.41 ± 0.8; P < 0.001, respectively), and they consumed lower amounts of analgesics at the same time intervals (12.50 ± 16.48 vs 21.87 ± 15.30 mg of pethidine; P = 0.047 and 152 ± 23 vs 172 ± 29 mg of diclofenac; P = 0.009, respectively). The same trend continued until the end of the trial.

Conclusions

Sucralfate ointment reduced the acute postoperative pain after hemorrhoidectomy.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the Vice Chancellor of Research of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. The authors acknowledge Dr. Nasrin Rahmani for her cooperation in patient selection, Robab Rahmani for her assistance in the randomization procedure, and Sara Abrishami for supervising the patients to ensure correct application of the ointment during their period of hospitalization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 18th Kilometer Farahabad Road, 48175861, Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran

    Shahram Ala & Mohamadreza Rafati

  2. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 18th Kilometer Farahabad Road, 48175861, Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran

    Majid Saeedi

  3. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 18th Kilometer Farahabad Road, 48175861, Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran

    Fariborz Eshghi

  4. Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 18th Kilometer Farahabad Road, 48175861, Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran

    Vahid Hejazi & Roja Hadianamrei

Authors
  1. Shahram Ala
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  2. Majid Saeedi
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  3. Fariborz Eshghi
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  4. Mohamadreza Rafati
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  5. Vahid Hejazi
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  6. Roja Hadianamrei
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roja Hadianamrei.

Additional information

This prospective randomized controlled trial was registered at “Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials” with the registration number IRCT138810173014N. The full trial can be accessed at: www.irct.ir

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Ala, S., Saeedi, M., Eshghi, F. et al. Efficacy of 10 % Sucralfate Ointment in the Reduction of Acute Postoperative Pain After Open Hemorrhoidectomy: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. World J Surg 37, 233–238 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-012-1805-8

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