Comparing analgesic effect of intra-articular neostigmine, tramadol and tenoxicam with placebo.

Purpose: To compare post-operative analgesic effects of intra-articular (i.a.) drugs. Methods: After the approval of ethic committee, a randomized study on 68 patients undergoing knee arthroscopy was performed. In Group I (n = 16) 0.5 mg of neostigmine, in Group II (n = 14) 100 mg of tradamol, in Group III (n = 20) 20 mg of tenoxicam in 20 ml 0.9% NaCl solution and Group P (n = 18) 20 ml of 0.9% NaCl were injected i.a. at the end of the arthroscopy. The visual analogue scale, heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) values and side effects were recorded at intervals of 1, 2, 6 and 24 hours after the operation. Patient's satisfaction was also recorded. Results: The duration of analgesia in Group I was significantly longer than in the other groups. In Group III patients' satisfaction was excellent. One patient in Group I and Group II had nausea, one patient in Group II had somnolence. Conclusion: All drugs provided acceptable post-operative analgesia with excellent satisfaction in Group III. According to these results i.a. tenoxicam may be a good choice for post-operative analgesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]