Post-operative Pain Control After Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy

Summary

Adenotonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the pediatric population in the United States. It is generally a well-tolerated procedure with post-operative bleeding risk ranging from 3-5% in children. Post-operative pain following adenotonsillectomy has significant morbidity and may result in prolonged hospital stay or re-admission to the hospital. Post-operative analgesia is most commonly managed with narcotic-containing pain medication. In recent years however, there is evidence that some patients may manifest increased sensitivity to narcotics, resulting in life-threatening respiratory compromise. Though there is a theoretical risk that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increase bleeding time by disrupting platelet aggregation, evidence of detrimental effects (i.e. increased risk of postoperative bleeding) remains inconclusive for these generally well-tolerated medications. The goal of this study is to determine the incidence of post-operative bleeding and to determine the efficacy of NSAIDs in the management of post-operative pain following pediatric adenotonsillectomy, versus more commonly used narcotic pain medication. The study design will be an initial retrospective study to collect pilot data on the incidence of postoperative hemorrhage and indicators of adequate/inadequate pain control in children age 4 to 17 undergoing adenotonsillectomy. This will be followed by a prospective, randomized, single-blind controlled study in which orally-administered ibuprofen (test intervention) is compared to acetaminophen-hydrocodone (control intervention) in the postoperative period following adenotonsillectomy.

Timeline

Start

2014-11

Primary completion

2016-11-30

Completion

2016-11-30

Publications

• Background Randel A. AAO-HNS Guidelines for Tonsillectomy in Children and Adolescents. Am Fam Physician. 2011 Sep 1;84(5):566-73. No abstract available.
• Background Marret E, Flahault A, Samama CM, Bonnet F. Effects of postoperative, nonsteroidal, antiinflammatory drugs on bleeding risk after tonsillectomy: meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. Anesthesiology. 2003 Jun;98(6):1497-502. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200306000-00030. No abstract available.
• Background Lewis SR, Nicholson A, Cardwell ME, Siviter G, Smith AF. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and perioperative bleeding in paediatric tonsillectomy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Jul 18;2013(7):CD003591. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003591.pub3.
• Background St Charles CS, Matt BH, Hamilton MM, Katz BP. A comparison of ibuprofen versus acetaminophen with codeine in the young tonsillectomy patient. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1997 Jul;117(1):76-82. doi: 10.1016/S0194-59989770211-0.
• Background Mitchell RB, Kelly J. Behavior, neurocognition and quality-of-life in children with sleep-disordered breathing. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2006 Mar;70(3):395-406. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2005.10.020.
• Background Hicks CL, von Baeyer CL, Spafford PA, van Korlaar I, Goodenough B. The Faces Pain Scale-Revised: toward a common metric in pediatric pain measurement. Pain. 2001 Aug;93(2):173-183. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3959(01)00314-1.
• Background Hong SM, Cho JG, Chae SW, Lee HM, Woo JS. Coblation vs. Electrocautery Tonsillectomy: A Prospective Randomized Study Comparing Clinical Outcomes in Adolescents and Adults. Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol. 2013 Jun;6(2):90-3. doi: 10.3342/ceo.2013.6.2.90. Epub 2013 Jun 14.

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