The efficacy of oral tizanidine in reducing pain after septoplasty

Background: A major problem in surgical procedures is postoperative pain. The effectiveness of prescribing preoperative tizanidine in reducing postoperative pain is not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of tizanidine as a premedication in reducing pain after septoplasty. Methods: This double blind clinical trial study was performed in 71 patients aged from 18 to 50 years, undergoing septoplastic surgery for the first time, who were classified in ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) classes 1 and 2 in the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Department of Shafa Hospital, in Kerman, Iran from April 2014  to March 2015. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups using numbers from a randomization table. A dosage of 4 mg of tizanidine was administered orally to the patients two hours before the surgery (septoplasty) in the intervention group. In the control group, placebo pills which were 100 mg vitamin B1 were prescribed. The severity of pain was measured and recorded after 4 and 8 hours, and the morning after the surgery. Results: 62 patients (87.32%) were male and 9 (12.68%) were female. The mean age of the subjects was 24.6±7.5 years. The two groups were similar in regard to age (P=0.54), but the duration of surgery was different in the two groups (P=0.038) and was longer in the group that received tizanidine. The mean of pain was different between the two groups, after 4 hours and was significantly higher in the group that received tizanidine (P=0.043). The mean of pain was not significantly different between the two groups after 8 hours (P=0.95) or one day after surgery (P=0.79). Conclusion: Although some researchers have reported that taking tizanidine before some surgeries may reduce postoperative pain, in this study the administration of tizanidine before surgery was not effective in reducing pain after septoplasty.