OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of Ketorolac versus Paracetamol as an adjunct to Nalbuphine in the management of post-operative pain following elective cardiac surgery.~STUDY DESIGN: Randomized (single-blind) control trial.~SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: Computer generated, randomized selection of patients with 50% probability of assignment into either group.~PLACE AND STUDY DURATION: (single center) PICU and Neurosurgery HCU at the Cipto Mangunkusumo National Referral Center Hospital, Jakarat, Indonesia, over a period of 6 months, from March to August 2022.~METHODS: Eighty-five patients (46 in paracetamol group and 39 in ketorolac group) were randomly assigned to receive either Paracetamol (treatment) or Ketorolac (control), along with the usual pre and intraoperative sedative/analgetics, and opioid as indicated over the first 48 hours postoperatively. The treatment group received injection Paracetamol 15mg/kg six hourly, whereas control group received injection Ketorolac 0.5mg/kg eight hourly.~PRIMARY OUTCOME: The rFLACC (pain score) was evaluated at 0, 8, 12, 24 and 48 hours post-operation and a score of 4 or less was taken as a cut-off for adequate pain control.~SECONDARY OUTCOMES: The total dose of opioid administered to each patient and adverse effects
Post-operative analgetic modalities vary between center to center, especially in Indonesia. Considerations include potency/effectivity of the analgetics to achieve adequate pain control as soon as possible, reducing the total opioid dose intake and overall reducing potential opioid adverse effects. NSAID have been known to have more adverse effects than acetaminophen (paracetamol) but offers a higher potency for analgetic effects. Here the investigators compare whether paracetamol is adequate as a post-operative analgetics and confers fewer overall adverse effects when compared with ketorolac (NSAID)