ROLE OF DEXAMETHASONE AT SURGICAL SITE IN THE CONTROL OF PAIN AND EDEMA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MANDIBULAR FRACTURE OSTEOSYNTHESIS

Abstract

Dexamethasone has a high response at low doses and it is used considerably in oral surgery with varying dose, route and timing of administration. To compare the outcome of dexamethasone and placebo in terms of mean pain and edema scores at surgical site of mandibular osteosynthesis patients.

A total of 80 patients having mandibular fractures at one site of age 15-50 years and both genders were included. Patients with associated other fractures of facial bones, having significant medical history of diabetes, heart and renal diseases with chronic use of medicines and pregnant women were excluded. Eight milligram of dexamethasone was administered via submucosal infiltration at the surgical incision site in the experimental group and control group received normal saline. Pain and edema was measured at twenty four and at seventy two hours after surgery by the use of visual analog scale and nine line measurement respectively.

In this study, there was significantly less score of pain on visual analog scale in group I (experimental group) 2.08 ± 0.92 and group II (control group) 3.43 ± 1.42 at 24 hours after surgery and 2.23 ± 0.80 in placebo and 0.5 ± 0.68 in dexamethasone group at 72 hours. There was significantly less edema score of patients receiving group I (dexamethasone) postoperatively up to 4.1 ± 1.43 as compared to group II (placebo group) 6.0 ± 1.22 on 24 hours after surgery and 2.0 ± 0.85 in placebo and 0.05 ± 1.2 in dexamethasone group after 72 hours. This study concluded that there was less pain and edema scores after dexamethasone use at surgical site of mandibular osteosynthesis patients.