Randomised Controlled Trial of Intramuscular Pentazocine Versus Intramuscular Diclofenac for Pain Relief During Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) at Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pentazocine is a commonly used drug for pain relief during MVA, it is associated with some side effects, thus the need to find an alternative with similar effectiveness and less side effects.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the effectiveness of intramuscular pentazocine with intramuscular diclofenac as pain relieving drugs during MVA.

RESEARCH METHOD: This was a randomized double blind controlled trial conducted at FTH, Katsina. Each patient received either pentazocine or diclofenac before the MVA. Questionnaires were filled to record the pain score(VAS), maternal satisfaction(Likert scale) and side effects of the drugs in both groups. Statistical analysis was done using computer software SPSS version 22.0.

RESULTS: The median difference in VAS (IQR) for the pentazocine group was 25.5(10.00-40.00) while that of the diclofenac group was 30.0(6.0-37.75),(U=1217.00, p=0.820), this difference was not statistically significant. Majority of both groups were very satisfied with the drugs, pentazocine group were 44.0% diclofenac group were 52.0%. (X²=3.36, p=0.50), the maternal satisfaction showed no statistically significant difference. There were statistically significant differences when nausea(X²=5.26, p=0.020), drowsiness(X²=25.09, p=<0.001) and sedation(X²=4.45, p=0.035) were compared between the two groups with those in the pentazocine arm experiencing more of this side effects.

CONCLUSION: The efficacy of intramuscular pentazocine was comparable to that of intramuscular diclofenac for pain relief during MVA, but intramuscular pentazocine was associated with significantly more side effects. These findings showed that diclofenac is not only as effective as pentazocine but also safer as pain relieving drug for patients during MVA at FTH, Katsina.

Keywords: Manual Vacuum Aspiration, pain management, pentazocine, Diclofenac.