The effect of ketamine and oxytocin with pethidine in postoperative pain control in patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Objective: Postoperative pain is a common problem after surgery and can lead to discomfort, delayed recovery, and extended hospital stays. Therefore, managing postoperative pain is essential for the patient’s well-being and recovery. In this study, we compared the efficacy of ketamine-oxytocin combination and midazolam (replacing pethidine to align with methods/results) for postoperative pain control in patients undergoing cholecystectomy. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial study, 120 patients referred to Shahid Rahimi hospitals in Khorramabad were studied. These individuals were divided into three groups of 40. Conducted to investigate the effect of ketamine and oxytocin compared to pethidine on postoperative pain in patients undergoing cholecystectomy surgery, these three groups were compared in terms of factors such as gender, comorbidity, drug sensitivity, oxygen saturation, heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, pain, nausea, and duration of surgery. Results: One hundred twenty patients were divided into three groups of 40. The first group received ketamine and oxytocin (with an average age of 41.04 ± 8.77), the second group received midazolam (with an average age of 43.45 ± 9.61), and the third group served as the control group (with an average age of 43.15 ± 8.62). The study groups did not show a significant difference in terms of gender, oxygen saturation, heart rate, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, and comorbidities ( P > 0.05). However, they did have a statistically significant difference in terms of postoperative pain and nausea ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the use of the combination of ketamine and oxytocin, compared to midazolam, reduces postoperative pain in patients undergoing cholecystectomy surgery. However, no significant statistical difference was observed in the examined cases.