Effects of Preoperative Administration of Dexamethasone on Postoperative Pain in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Objective: To determine the effect of single dose administration of dexamethasone on post-operative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methodology: This randomized control trial was conducted at PAF Hospital Islamabad from January 2023 till June 2023. Ninety-two patients of both genders underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and were randomly assigned to two groups. Group A was given 8 mg dexamethasone (dissolved in 100ml 0.9% isotonic normal saline) intravenously 30 minutes before induction of anaesthesia (n=46). Group B patients received 100ml 0.9% normal saline only (n=46). Episodes of pain were recorded using VAS (visual analogue scale) at baseline, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours post-anaesthesia. Results: Age range in this study was from 20 to 60 years. Out of 92 patients, 51 were males and 41 were females with male to female ratio of 1.2:1. VAS was 5.17 ± 1.10 in group A and 5.02 ± 1.14 in group B at baseline, 4.87 ± 0.86 in group A and 4.85 ± 0.87 in group B at 1 hours, 3.46 ± 1.00 in group A and 4.65 ± 0.74 in group B at 3 hours, 2.93 ± 0.95 in group A and 4.50 ± 0.78 in group B at 6 hours, 3.11 ± 0.77 in group A and 4.50 ± 1.09 in group B at 12 hours. VAS score of Group A were lower (2.41 ± 1.39) than that of Group B (4.61 ± 0.77) at 24 hours. Conclusion: Single dose of dexamethasone at the time of induction of anaesthesia significantly decrease the pain in 24 hours of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.