Analgesic effects of intra-articular fentanyl, pethidine and dexamethasone after knee arthroscopic surgery

Background: many different methods have been used in an effort to provide adequate analgesia after knee arthroscopicsurgery. in this study analgesic effect of intra-articular fentanyl, pethidine and dexamethasone was compared.methods: in a double blind randomized study 48 male patients undergoing knee arthroscopic meniscectomy were allocatedto groups receiving intra-articular fentanyl 50 ىg or pethidine 20 mg or dexamethasone 8 mg at the end of arthroscopyduring general aesthesia. postoperative pain scores using visual analogue scale were measured and also analgesicrequirements and the time of ability to walk were recorded.results: pain scores at one, two, six and 24 h after intra-articular injection were not significantly different for fentanyland pethidine but were higher significantly for dexamethasone at all four mentioned times. the mean average time ofability to walk was significantly longer for dexamethasone. the analgesic requirements during the first 24 h after intraarticularinjection were significantly greater only for dexamethasone too.conclusion: better postoperative analgesia, less pain score and shorter time to walk were achieved by fentanyl andpethidine in comparison to dexamethasone but the results were not significantly different between fentanyl group andpethidine.