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Background and Aims Effective analgesia after CS is essential to enhance recovery. Recent PROSPECT guidelines highlighted the importance of multimodal analgesia including paracetamol, NSAIDs, regional anesthesia and IV Dexamethasone.¹ Usually, doses of Dexamethasone are 0.2mg/kg) seem to generate analgesic superiority.^2,3 This randomized, double-blind study aimed to compare HIGH- versus LOW-dose Dexamethasone for post-CS analgesia.

Methods Following ethical approval and informed consent, 210 patients undergoing CS were randomized to 5mg or 2x25mg of IV-Dexamethasone. Multimodal analgesia was given in both groups including paracetamol, NSAIDs, wound infiltration and bilateral ilio-inguinal nerve block. Opioids were given as rescue. In the LOW-group 5mg IV-Dexamethasone was given after delivery. In the HIGH-group 25mg IV-Dexamethasone was given after delivery and 24hours later. Primary endpoint was the cumulated NRS-pain scores at movement 4-48 hours after CS quantified as area under the curve (AUC). Secondary endpoints included pain scores at rest, patient satisfaction, rescue analgesics, side-effects and functional recovery.

Results In the HIGH-group the hourly AUC pain score at movement was significantly reduced by 15% from 3.11±1.14 to 2.65±1.25 (p=0.0011), and pain scores at rest and highest pain scores were lower. Less patients required rescue opioids (75% vs 58%, p=0.011), morphine consumption was reduced (9.1 to 5.2mg, p=0.0003) and functional recovery improved. Glycemia and wound healing were normal in both groups.

Conclusions Compared to a single 5mg dose of Dexamethasone, 2 x 25mg Dexamethasone added to multimodal analgesia provided superior analgesia with lower opioid consumption without an increase in side-effects.

References

1. Roofthooftetal. Anaesthesia. 2021;76: 665–680.

2. Lunnetal. Brit J Anaesth. 2011;106: 230–238.

3. VandeVeldeMetal. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2023;40: 151–152.