[Effectiveness of dexamethasone as an adjuvant in preemptive analgesia for postoperative pain in patients undergoing abdominal surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of adjuvant dexamethasone in preemptive analgesia for postoperative pain in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an experimental, comparative, prospective and longitudinal study. It included 92 patients scheduled for elective abdominal surgery, who participated with prior informed consent. They were divided in two groups of 46 patients. For statistical analysis of results, we used descriptive statistics and Chi square and Student t.

RESULTS: 92 patients were evaluated with an average age of 47 years; 15% corresponded to ASA I, 56% ASA II, and 21% ASA III. With the visual analog scale (VAS), it was possible to observe that the mean difference between the groups was 0.91; both groups showed a minimum of zero and a maximum eight points. In comparison, we obtained p < 0.05 at the first hour, second hour, and at 24 hours of VAS assessment.

CONCLUSION: Dexamethasone better controlled postsurgical pain and had adequate hemodynamic stability.