Conditions: Post Operative Pain Nausea
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 82
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
The purpose of the study is to determine the opiate sparing effects of intravenously administered dexamethasone in outpatient knee surgery. Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid with well known antiemetic effects. However, the analgesic effects of dexamethasone have not been adequately researched. Following surgery, patients are typically discharged home with PO opiates to manage post-operative pain. The investigators believe that by using VAS (Visual Analog Scale) for Pain the investigators can show that a single dose of dexamethasone can reduce pain scales and opiate consumption post-operatively, on Post Operative Day (POD 1) when compared to placebo.

Detailed description:
Findings of Modest improvement in pain scores and postoperative nausea at 24 hours with Dexamethasone

Arms:
arm 1: Dexamethasone 8mg iv x 1 arm 2: placebo

Interventions: intervention 1: Dexamethasone 8mg iv x1 intervention 2: placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Dexamethasone 8mg iv x1 intervention 2: 2 ml normal saline IV x1

Protocol document: