Study of Paracetamol Infusion as Pre-Emptive Analgesic in Lower Abdominal Surgeries

Introduction: Pre-emptive analgesia is widely used to control intraoperative and postoperative pain.Intravenous Paracetamol, a non opioid analgesic gained wide popularity as to control pain during surgery.Present study is undertaken to check whether intravenous Paracetamol can be used as pre-emptive analgesic in patients undergoing lower abdominal surgeries under general anaesthesia.Methodology: 60 patients of ASA grade I & II undergoing lower abdominal surgeries under general anaesthesia were included in the study.Patients in the study group (n=30) received Paracetamol infusion (1000mg./100ml.)15 minutes prior to induction of anaesthesia.All patients received uniform type of general anaesthesia and intra-operative fentanyl 2 mcg./kg.Monitoring includes Heart Rate (HR), Oxygen Saturation(SPO2), Blood Pressure.In the post operative period, pain is assessed at an interval of every 30 minutes till the first rescue analgesic.Pain is assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).The end point of the study is when rescue analgesic is administered to the patient.Result: Post operatively mean VAS score was better in the Paracetamol group compared to control group.Time requirement of first dose of rescue analgesic in the postoperative period was significantly prolonged in the Paracetamol group.Conclusion: It was concluded that IV Paracetamol is beneficial as a pre-emptive analgesic in patients who undergo lower abdominal surgeries.