The Effect of Two Doses of Sublingual Melatonin on Sedation and Pain Control in Cataract Surgery Under Sedation and Local Anesthesia

Abstract

Background: Cataract surgery is performed in elderly patients, and in recent years, the use of melatonin as a premedication for this procedure has been considered. Given that the doses used in different studies have yielded contradictory results, the present study aimed to determine the effect of two doses of sublingual melatonin on sedation and pain control in cataract surgery under sedation and local anesthesia. Methods: The present study was a randomized, double-blind clinical trial conducted in 1403. The sampling was simple random and included 90 patients with a definitive diagnosis of cataract and requiring cataract surgery. The patients were divided into three groups of 30 and were administered sublingual melatonin in doses of 3 and 5 mg in two groups and placebo in the third group. The data were collected using standard scales and analyzed in significance level of less than 0.05. Findings: According to the results; Melatonin, at both doses of 3 and 5 mg, can significantly reduce and improve the behavioral scale of pain and sedation from one minute after anesthesia until the time of leaving the recovery room compared to the placebo group (P < 0.05). In addition, it had no significant effect on heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, and arterial oxygen saturation (P > 0.05), as they remained within the normal range from before the operation until the end. The patient's pain based on the VAS scale was significantly reduced only from one to five minutes after anesthesia in the two groups consuming melatonin (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be stated that the present study is one of the studies that confirms the effects of reducing the behavioral pain scale and sedation one minute after sublingual melatonin administration at both 3 and 5 mg doses, until the time of leaving recovery. © 2026, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.