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Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

DOI

10.3906/sag-1701-113

Abstract

Background/aim: Sex-related differences in response to pain have become a topic of increasing interest. However, sex-related differences in the efficacy of dexamethasone for postoperative analgesia have not been previously addressed. Materials and methods: The study included 196 men and 196 women, aged between 18 and 45 years, who were scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The patients were randomly allocated into dexamethasone (M/F: 98/98) and control (normal saline; M/F: 98/98) groups. Patients in the study group received intravenous dexamethasone at 0.1 mg/kg (dexamethasone group) 1 h before induction of anesthesia. Patients in the control group received normal saline. Changes in cumulative morphine-containing, patient-controlled analgesia consumption in both sexes, pain intensity using a visual analog scale 24 h after surgery, mean morphine consumption adjusted for body weight, and incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting were measured. Results: Women in both groups had significantly higher pain scores at 1 and 6 h postoperatively, higher levels of patient-controlled analgesia and mean morphine consumption, and more postoperative nausea and vomiting (P < 0.05). These effects were less severe in the dexamethasone group. Conclusion: The results suggest that women are less responsive than men to dexamethasone for postoperative analgesia and experience higher levels of postoperative pain.

Keywords

Gonadal hormones, pain, sex

First Page

1282

Last Page

1286

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