Inhaled nitrous oxide can reduce the pain perception in post Caldwell-Luc operation patients–a randomised trial

To assess the efficiency of inhaled nitrous oxide (N(2)O) for the reduce the perception pain in extraction of iodoform gauze packing strips in post Caldwell-Luc operation patients. This randomized single blind trial included a total of 47 patients, aged between 14–82 years, in which undergoing radical maxillary sinusotomy. Based on the randomization procedure, patients were treated with (experimental) or without (control) inhaled N(2)O. The visual analogue scale scores (VAS scores) of the pain perception and the headache duration time were comparatively studied. The average VAS score for pain perception was 3.92 in the N(2)O group and 7.87 in the control group. The average headache duration time was 0.12 hour in the N(2)O group and 13.09 hours in the control group. Both VAS scores for pain perception during the treatment and the average headache duration time were significantly reduced in the inhaled N(2)O group (P < 0.01). Reduced pain perception and headache duration time indicated that, the inhaled N(2)O method might be viable in extraction of iodoform gauze packing strips in post Caldwell-Luc operation patients.