Background: Post-surgical pain is a challenging problem. Different modifications of surgical procedures and use of different analgesics had been reported. However, no consensus had been reached for post-surgical pain control. Tonsillectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedure and pain control still controversial.
Aim of the work:To investigation safety and efficacy of intravenous paracetamol, ibuprofen, or both for post-tonsillectomy pain control.
Patients and Methods:The study had been carried at Otorhinolaryngology and Eye, Al-Jabr hospital,Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department in collaboration with Otorhinolaryngology department and the day care surgery unit], Al-Ahasa directorate, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA]. It included children aged 2 to 10 years. Patients had been randomly allocated into 3 equal groups [each 30 patients]. Group A [intravenous paracetamol 15mg/kg], Group B [intravenous ibuprofen 10mg/kg], and Group C [intravenous paracetamol 7.5 mg/kg and ibuprofen 5mg/kg]. The examined drug had been administrated 20 minutes after induction of general anesthesia. The analgesic effects and hemodynamics had been assessed on regular postoperative intervals till patient discharge, and patient satisfaction had been addressed. Any side effects and need for postoperative analgesia had been documented.
Results: Studied groups were comparable regarding patient demographics, recovery time, hospital stay duration and need for additional analgesia. However, pain was significantly variable between studied groups till 3 hours postoperatively. Pain was significantly reduced at groups B [IV ibuprofen] and C [IV paracetamol and Ibuprofen with reduced dose] when compared to group A [IV paracetamol] at all times. In addition, hemodynamic variability was observed for mean arterial pressure and heart rate. At five minutes, blood pressure was significantly higher in group B when compared to group C, and at 5 minutes to 2.5 hours, it was significantly increased among group A when compared to group C.
Conclusion: Drug combination with reduced [half the dose] of both intravenous paracetamol and ibuprofen is more effective and safer than single drug with higher dose. The studied drugs avoid the well-known side effects of opioids.