en Clinical Medicine Clinical Medicine مقاله پژوهشی Original Research Article <p style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><span style="background:#2D7F8F;"><span style="color:white;">&nbsp;Background & Objective:</span></span></strong> &nbsp;Patients undergoing a caesarean section (CS) frequently experience shoulder pain, which is often neglected. However, there are some recommendations to prevent or relieve this pain. This study examined the effect of intravenous dexamethasone and ketamine on reducing shoulder pain in patients who underwent a CS under spinal anesthesia.</span></span><br> <span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt;background:#2D7F8F;"><span style="color:white;">&nbsp;Materials & Methods:</span></span> </strong>&nbsp;The cohort of this prospective study comprised 231 subjects, all of whom were candidates for a CS during 2016. The patients were evaluated based on the type of medication received. After undergoing spinal anesthesia, the first group received 0.5 mg/kg ketamine intravenously and the second group received 0.1 mg/kg dexamethasone intravenously. The patients in these two groups were compared with a control group made up of patients who had not received any medication. Levels of pain severity during and immediately after, as well as 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, 18 h, and 24 h after the CS, were recorded based on the visual analogue scale (VAS). The amount of pethidine consumed was also documented.</span></span><br> <span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="background:#2D7F8F;"><span style="color:white;"><strong>&nbsp;Results:</strong> </span></span>&nbsp;Compared to the control group, the intravenous administration of ketamine and dexamethasone significantly reduced shoulder pain resulted from CS under spinal anesthesia (<em>P</em><0.05). In addition, the number of pethidine recipients in the control group was significantly higher (<em>P</em><0.001).</span></span><br> <span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><span style="background:#2D7F8F;"><span style="color:white;">&nbsp;Conclusion: </span></span>&nbsp;</strong>The results showed that prophylactic administration of dexamethasone and ketamine is effective in relieving shoulder pain after a CS.</span></span></p> <p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></p> <p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></p> <p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></p> Caesarean section, Spinal anesthesia, Shoulder pain, Dexamethasone, Ketamine 28 33 http://journal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-5477-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Reza Razavizadeh Mr_razavi48@yahoo.com 5200319475328460088851 5200319475328460088851 No Dept. of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Mehdi Rajabi Mrajabi52@yahoo.com 5200319475328460088852 5200319475328460088852 No Dept. of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Alireza Moraveji moraveji@kaums.ac.ir 5200319475328460088853 5200319475328460088853 No Dept. of Community Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Ehsan Shafiei Rad radanesthesia@gmail.com 5200319475328460088854 5200319475328460088854 No Dept. of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Mehrdad Mahdian mmahdian78@gmail.com 5200319475328460088855 5200319475328460088855 Yes Trauma Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran