Comparison of intravenous paracetamol and tramadol for postoperative analgesia in patients with septo-rhinoplasty

Objective: the aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of i.v. tramadol and i.v. paracetamol for postoperative analgesia after septo-rhinoplasty operation. method: fifty american society of anesthesiology (asa) physical status i-ii patients,aged between 18-50,receiving septo-rhinoplasty operation are included in the study. the patients were randomly divided into two groups for postoperative analgesia. in group i; i.v. paracetamol 1 gr was infused 30 minutes before the end of the operation. in group ii; i.v. tramadol 1 mg kg -1 was given 20 minutes before the end of the operation. a blinded observer recorded the pain intensity,analgesic need,patient satisfaction and side effects of drugs for postoperative at 1 h,6 h and 24 h hours. results: the vas values are similar in both groups at postoperative 1st hour,no statistically significant differences were found (p> 0.05). vas values for group ii were significantly lower than group 1 at 6 h and 24 h postoperatively (p< 0.05). no serious side-effects were recorded during the study. the most frequent adverse effect was nausea (25%) in group ii. no significant difference was found between groups in terms of vomiting (p>0.05),whereas the rate of nausea was significantly lower in group i than group ii. cortisol levels significantly decreased in both groups at postoperative period. conclusion: intravenous paracetamol administration provided adequate analgesia as opioids especially at early postoperative period for mild-moderate pain therapy in perioperative period.