Analgesic effect of ketorolac as an adjuvant to bupivacaine in ultrasound-guided pectoral nerve block (I + II) for patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background And Aims: Many drugs have been tried as adjuvant to local anesthetic in different nerve blocks. Ketorolac is one of them, but it has never been used in pectoral nerve block. In this study, we evaluated its adjuvant effect with local anesthetic on postoperative analgesia in ultrasound (US)-guided pectoral nerve (PECS) blocks. The aim was to assess the quality and the duration of analgesia by the addition of ketorolac in the PECS block.

Material And Methods: 46 patients who underwent modified radical mastectomies under general anesthesia were randomized into two groups: control group, where pectoral nerve block was given with bupivacaine 0.25% only; and ketorolac group, where the block was given with bupivacaine 0.25% and ketorolac 30 mg.

Results: Patients who needed postoperative supplemental analgesia were significantly less in the ketorolac group (9 vs 21 patients, = 0.00) and that first-time analgesic requirement was significantly later in the ketorolac group (14 hrs) postoperatively compared to the control group (9 hrs) postoperatively.

Conclusion: Adding ketorolac to bupivacaine in pectoral nerve block safely increases postoperative duration of analgesia.