Vitamin C supplementation as adjuvant analgesic therapy in post-operative pain management in patients undergoing surgical decompression in a case of prolapsed intervertebral disc

Authors

  • Neetin P. Mahajan Department of of Orthopaedics, Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Mrugank A. Narvekar Department of of Orthopaedics, Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Ajay S. Chandanwale DMER, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Lalkar L. Gadod Department of Orthopaedics, Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • G. S. Prasannakumar Department of Orthopaedics, Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20213419

Keywords:

Vitamin C, Ascorbic acid, Post-operative pain

Abstract

Background: The management of postoperative pain has been a major challenge for the operating surgeons. Vitamin C has shown analgesic effects in specific clinical conditions, reducing patient suffering and improving the quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin C as an adjuvant in postoperative pain management and its effect on analgesia requirements in patients undergoing spinal decompression surgery.

Methods: The present study was a prospective study of 50 patients aged 30-60 years with low back pain due to prolapsed intervertebral disc requiring surgical decompression, conducted in a tertiary care institute from 2018 to 2020. All patients underwent open discectomy. 25 patients each were randomized into two groups, those that were given vitamin c supplementation (group A) and those that weren't (group B). The patients were then followed up 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th week and the pain was graded at each follow-up according to the NRS scale. The total amount of diclofenac sodium consumed in the 6 weeks was calculated.

Results: The mean NRS (A vs B) at 2 (2.68 vs 3.56) and 4 (0.88 vs 1.48) weeks follow-up showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, but the difference was not significant at 6 (0.16 vs 0.36) weeks follow up. The difference in the consumption of analgesic (3.56 vs 5.46) at 6 weeks was statistically significant.

Conclusions: In this clinical outcome-based study, we suggest that for postoperative pain management, vitamin C acts as an efficacious adjuvant with a dose-sparing effect on the consumption of analgesics.

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Published

2021-08-25

How to Cite

Mahajan, N. P., Narvekar, M. A., Chandanwale, A. S., Gadod, L. L., & Prasannakumar, G. S. (2021). Vitamin C supplementation as adjuvant analgesic therapy in post-operative pain management in patients undergoing surgical decompression in a case of prolapsed intervertebral disc. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 9(9), 2756–2760. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20213419

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Original Research Articles