Failure of rectal diclofenac to augment opioid analgesia after cholecystectomy

Abstract

The analgesic efjcacy of a single 100‐mg suppository of diclofenac sodium given after elective cholecystectomy was studied in 30 healthy patients in a double‐blind randomised controlled manner. The mean 24‐hour postoperative morphine consumption of the placebo group and the diclofenac group was similar (45 mg). Analysis of the cumulative hourly morphine consumption from the patient‐controlled analgesia system failed to show any statistically significant differences between the groups. Peak expiratory flow rate, forced expiratory volume at I second and forced vital capacity decreased 24 hours after operation to less than 50% of pre‐operative values in both groups. Subjective experiences of pain, nausea and drowsiness assessed by linear analogue scoring were similar in both groups. Copyright © 1989, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved