Topical vs Oral Metronidazole After Benign Anorectal Surgery

Plain-language 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.

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