Journal of Palliative Care & Medicine
Open Access

Abstract

Purpose: Ketoprofen is a non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) and its topical application has been used for the management of musculoskeletal and arthritic pain. In the present study we evaluated the efficacy of ketoprofen patch for attenuating venepuncture pain. Methods: This prospective, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, included 300 adult patients of either sex, undergoing elective gastro intestinal surgery; divided into 3 equal groups. Group I (Control): Received a placebo patch; Group II (EMLA): received EMLA cream followed by a placebo patch; and Group III (ketoprofen): received a ketoprofen patch All medications were applied 1 hr prior to venipuncture. Pain during venipuncture was assessed by Visual Analogous Scale (VAS) of 0-10; where 0 means no pain and 10 means worst imaginable pain. Result: The incidence of venipuncture pain was higher in the control group 100% (94/94) compared with 30% (26/88) in EMLA group and 7% (6/91) in ketoprofen group (P=0.00 and 0.01 respectively). Severity of venipuncture pain as assessed by VAS (median with interquartile range) was also higher in the control group 6 (2) compared to 2 (2) and 2 (2) in the other 2 groups respectively (P=0.00 and 0.00 respectively). Incidence of blanching and erythema were higher in the EMLA group (P=0.00 and 0.00 respectively); whereas, swelling at the cannulation site was higher in the control group (P=0.00 and 0.01 respectively). Conclusion: Ketoprofen and EMLA ointment were equally effective in reducing the incidence and severity of venipuncture pain.

Biography

P K Singh has completed his MBBS from GR Medical College, Jiwaji University, Gwalior and Post-doctoral studies from the same university. He is the head of the department and Chief Medical Superintendent at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of repute

Email: pksingh@sgpgi.ac.in