Postoperative Tramadol/Gabapentin/Ibuprofen Versus Tramadol/Placebo/Ibuprofen

Summary

Tonsillectomy is the most common pediatric surgical procedure performed in the US, with over 530,000 procedures performed annually in children under 15 years (Baugh et al., 2011). The postoperative period can be particularly painful. A recent clinical consensus acknowledges there is no standard analgesic protocol, and calls for further research comparing postoperative pain medications (Baugh et al., 2011). Tramadol was found to be as effective as codeine with few reported side effects in a recent double-blinded, controlled trial conducted by the investigators at Children's Hospitals and Clinics (CHC), and it is currently being prescribed in the postoperative setting. However, despite its effectiveness for pain control, there were some children that continued to report pain during the 10-day follow-up period. In response, the investigators will conduct a randomized, double-blinded controlled trial to determine whether or not adding scheduled gabapentin to a scheduled tramadol + "as needed" (PRN) ibuprofen regimen provides better pain control than tramadol + ibuprofen PRN alone during the post-tonsillectomy period. Using a 10-day take-home diary, caregivers will be asked to record daily information about their child's postoperative pain and other core outcomes and domains as recommended in the recent consensus statement put forth by the Pediatric Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) (McGrath et al., 2008). This study will offer new information regarding the efficacy and side effects associated with adding scheduled gabapentin to a postoperative pain management protocol in a pediatric population.

Timeline

Start

2014-03

Primary completion

2017-02

Completion

2017-02

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.