Comparison of lornoxicam with tramadol in patient-controlled analgesia after gynecological surgery

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of lornoxicam and tramadol in patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) after gynecological surgery. Methods: Forty-four patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups after elective gynecological surgery. Patients in group I (n = 22) received IV tramadol, and group 11 patients (n = 2) received IV lornoxicarn with a PCA pump. A visual analogue scale (VAS) (0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain), hemodynamic parameters and side-effects were assessed before starting the infusion (baseline), at the 15(th) and 30(th) min, 1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd), 4(th), 6(th), 8(th), 12(th), 18(th), 24(th), 36(th) and 48(th) hour thereafter, and results were compared. Results: Adequate analgesia was achieved in both groups. VAS values in the tramadol group were lower than those of lornoxiacam at the 15(th) and 30(th) minute, 1(st), 2(nd), 4(th), 6 h, 8(th) and 12(th) hour measurements (p < 0.05). Eight patients (36.3%) in group I and six patients (27.2%) in group 11 suffered from nausea (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Tramadol and lornoxicarn may be used for pain control after gynecological surgery via PCA. However, we conclude that tramadol has better analgesic efficacy than lornoxicam during the first 12 hours postoperatively.