Comparison of ketoprofen and morphine for post-operative analgesia in orthopaedic patients

A prospective, open label, randomized study to compare efficacy of intramuscular administration of ketoprofen and morphine for post operative analgesia in elective orthopaedic surgery was performed in 50 patients. The procedures were open reduction and internal fixation of long bone fractures (26 cases), hip replacement (9 cases) and spinal surgery (15 cases). Pain intensity and pain relief in both groups were evaluated at 1, 3 and 6 hours post-injection. There was no significant differences in pain relief of both groups (P = 0.05). The side effects of intramuscular ketoprofen were encountered in only 8 per cent. Ketoprofen injection is an alternative for post operative pain relief.