Ibuprofen for tonsillectomy pain in children: Efficacy and complications

Abstract

We designed a prospective, randomized, double-blind study to test the efficacy and safety of ibuprofen compared with acetaminophen with codeine for pediatric posttonsillectomy/adenotonsillectomy patients. Twenty-seven children, aged 6 to 16 years, were enrolled. We collected information on pain control, return to normal sleep pattern, return to normal diet, and duration for which medication was required. Coagulation profiles were measured before surgery and on postoperative day 3. Acetaminophen with codeine was more effective in controlling pain on days 1 and 3 (p = 0.0475 and 0.0328, respectively). However, we detected no difference between the treatment groups (p = 0.2216) with regard to pain control on day 5. The ibuprofen group required medication for a longer period (p = 0.0464). We detected no statistically significant differences between groups with regard to return to normal diet (p = 0.2346) and return to normal sleep pattern (p = 0.9554). The postoperative hemorrhage rate was 0% in the acetaminophen-with-codeine group and 12.5% in the ibuprofen group. The ibuprofen group demonstrated a mean increase in bleeding time of 2.07 minutes on the third postoperative day (p = 0.0379). The mean change in postoperative bleeding time between the two groups was statistically significant (p = 0.0140). We found no statistically significant differences in prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time between groups. On the basis of the findings of this pilot study, we conclude that acetaminophen with codeine is safer and more efficacious than ibuprofen in the management of posttonsillectomy/adenotonsillectomy pain in children.