Efficacy of sublingual use of ketorolac tromethamine in reducing pain during treatment with laser photocoagulation in patients with diabetic retinopathy double blind, randomized, sham-controlled study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the analgesic effect of sublingual ketorolac tromethamine during argon laser photocoagulation in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Methods: A double blind, randomized, sham - controlled study, was conducted in 60 patients with diabetic retinopathy, referred for argon laser panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). For the evaluation of pain intensity, a numerical scale from zero to ten was used. The trial sample was divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 27 patients who used one 10 mg tablet of ketorolac tromethamine and group 2 comprised of 33 patients who used a sham, both with the same method of administration, 30 minutes before application of the laser. Results: Of the 27 patients in Group 1, 20 (74%) felt pain in the first stage, 5 (19%) experienced pain in the second stage and 2 (7%) felt no pain at any time. Of the 33 patients in Group 2, 27 (82%) felt pain in the first stage, 3 (9%) experienced pain in the second stage and 3 (9%) felt no pain at any time. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p=0.65 and 0.33). Conclusion: Ketorolac tromethamine was not able to reduce pain during panretinal photocoagulation in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.