Introduction:

use of corticosteroids is an effective strategy to reduce postoperative pain.

Objective:

to determine usefulness of betamethasone in the prevention of postoperative pain in patients operated for lumbar disc herniation.

Methods:

a quasi-experimental study was carried out in 100 patients operated for lumbar disc herniation at "Arnaldo Milián Castro" Clinico-Surgical University Hospital, in Villa Clara province from April 2013 to December 2015. They were divided into a control group and a study one; prior to surgical incision, intravenous diclofenac 75mg and betamethasone 8mg were administered (only in the study group).

Results:

70% of the patients were male, and the mean age was 45.99 years. In the study group, the time of onset of pain () and its intensity, at 4, 8 and 24 hours, was significantly lower than in the control group (pα <0.010, pα <0.001 and <0.001); 48% of the patients were able to get up without pain, 32 % less required rescue analgesia, and the degree of satisfaction was significantly better.

Conclusions:

administration of betamethasone before surgical incision was very useful in the prevention of postoperative pain in patients operated for lumbar disc herniation.