[Indomethacin enema in treatment of postoperative pain after knee arthrotomy. A double-blind controlled trial].

Twenty-three patients subjected to arthrotomy of the knee were in a double-blind trial randomly allocated to either: 1) Indomethacin 100 mg (Confortid) administered as an enema immediately before induction of anaesthesia and repeated morning and evening for the next two days, or: b) a placebo. The patients' demand for postoperative pain treatment were registered. Survival analysis was applied to the time passed from recovery from anaesthesia until patients first asked for postoperative pain treatment. A significant difference was found (p less than 0.05). The indomethacin treated group required significantly less postoperative pain treatment than did the placebo group. 36% of the patients in the indomethacin group had no additional pain treatment during the two days of observation. Indomethacin as an enema proved to be an easy and effective way of reducing postoperative pain.