Transdermal patches: Do they really works?—A comparative study of ketoprofen versus diclofenac analgesic patches in minor oral surgery

Abstract

Aim and objectivesA prospective split mouth study was done to compare the efficacy of transdermal ketoprofen versus diclofenac patch after therapeutic orthodontic tooth extraction based on four parameters – pain intensity (VAS), number of rescue analgesia intakes, local allergic reactions and patient tolerability for immediate and 3 consecutive postoperative days.Materials and methodsIn total, 33 (66 extraction sites) patients were divided into the ketoprofen patch group and the diclofenac patch group. A single ketoprofen patch (70 cm2 30 mg) was applied following extraction of premolars of the 1st and 4th quadrants and patients were recalled after 1 week for extractions of premolars of the 2nd and 3rd quadrants and diclofenac patch (50 cm2 100 mg) was applied on the deltoid region of the right arm, respectively. Patients were then evaluated under the above‐mentioned parameters.ResultsKetoprofen transdermal patch was found to be more effective in terms of controlling postoperative pain and the minimum number of rescue analgesia tablets taken as compared to diclofenac (statistically significant on 1st and 2nd day) though the former showed the incidence of a local allergic reaction (p‐value 0.002, 0.002 and 0.012), respectively, in few cases which were not seen in case of diclofenac.ConclusionOverall, both the transdermal patches are effective in terms of safety and providing analgesia, though more research are needed in proving the safeness and efficiency of these transdermal patches with large sample size.