Preemptive meloxicam for postoperative pain relief after abdominal hysterectomy

This study was conducted to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of meloxicam in abdominal hysterectomy.

The study population consisted of 52 patients scheduled for total abdominal hysterectomy who were ASA 1 or 2 physical status female. Patients were allocated randomly to receive orally either 15 mg of meloxicam (Group M, n = 27) or placebo (Group P, n = 25) before anesthesia induction. After intravenous administration of 1.5 mg kg(-1) of tramadol, anesthesia was induced with an intravenous loading dose of 1-2 mg kg(-1) propofol. Anesthesia was maintained on intravenous infusion of propofol at 6-12 mg kg(-1) h plus tramadol at 1 mg kg(-1) h(-1), vecuronium, and a 2:1 nitrous oxide-oxygen mixture.

The relative propofol consumption was lower in Group M than in Group P, (p < 0.05). The time for analgesic rescue decreased in the order Group M > Group P (p < 0.01). The degree of sedation was similar between the groups (p > 0.05) and the visual analog scores (10-cm scale) and verbal rating scale data differences were present in the first 2 h only (p < 0.05). When side-effects were evaluated nausea and vomiting were found to be lower in group M than in group P (p < 0.05).

Preemptive meloxicam provided better postoperative analgesia than placebo.