Topical vs Oral Metronidazole After Benign Anorectal Surgery
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2021-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
While some investigators found oral metronidazole to be effective in reducing pain after
hemorrhoidectomy, other researchers did not find a significant analgesic effect of systemic
metronidazole. On the other hand, topical application of metronidazole had more consistent
favorable results as Ala et al documented a remarkable analgesic effect of topical
metronidazole 10% after excisional hemorrhoidectomy which was in line with Nicholson and
Armestrong who also concluded similar results.
No previous study compared the analgesic effect of topical and oral metronidazole after
anorectal surgery. Therefore, the present trial was conducted to compare the impact of oral
versus systemic metronidazole on pain and recovery after surgery for benign anorectal
conditions.