comparison of the analgesic effect of fentanyl and ketamine on pain during injection of propofol in patients undergoing general anesthesia

Propofol is one of the most common drugs used in anesthesia induction and the pain on intravenous injection is one of the most important propofol’s side effects. Therefore a lot of methods and drugs have been examined to reduce or eliminate this side effect. In this study the effects of fentanyl and ketamine in reducing of pain on intravenous injection of propofol are investigated.

This study was performed on 66 patients who were undergoing elective surgery in Ahwaz Imam Khomeini hospital in 2012. The intensity of propofol intravenous injection pain was measured after injection, recovery time, 6 and 12 hrs after injection by VRS. Result were analyzed by SPSS version 16 software using Chi square and Tukey HSD tests.

According to analysis of data, statistically significant differences in pain after injection of propofol were observed during recovery and at 6 hrs and 12 hrs after injection using VRS. The VRS score in Fentanyl group has a meaningful difference in comparison of other groups according to Tukey test (p<0.001).

Fentanyl was more effective than ketamine and normal saline group in reducing pain on injection of propofol.