(PR35) The Effect of Postoperative Bupivacaine on Patients’ Quality of Life

The objective of this single-blinded randomized control trial was to determine the effect of a long-acting local anesthetic, 0.5% bupivacaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine administered immediately following endodontic surgery, on patients’ post-operative pain and quality of life. Patients presenting for root-end surgery in the Department of Endodontics were screened for study eligibility. The surgery was completed for all patients following department procedural protocol. Patients were blinded and randomly assigned to one of three groups: group 1 (n=18) received an injection of 0.5% bupivacaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine immediately following surgery); group 2 (n=17) received a simulated injection post-operatively; and group 3 (n=18) received no additional postoperative injection. Patients’ quality of life, level of odontogenic pain, and quantity of analgesics taken were assessed using a modified version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire, administered pre-operatively and for seven days post-operatively. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the effect of bupivacaine on each of the three outcomes. At the time of this preliminary reporting of results 53 patients have been enrolled in the study. Patients in the simulated injection group experienced significantly more pain and poorer quality of life compared to patients in the Bupivacaine group (p < 0.05). Those who received no injection were more likely to report taking analgesics compared to those in the Bupivacaine group (p < 0.05). Patients in the Bupivacaine group reported a better quality of life and patient-centered outcomes compared to the other groups.