Can postoperative pains following tonsillectomy be relieved by honey? A prospective, randomized, placebo controlled preliminary study.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of acetaminophen versus acetaminophen-plus-honey following pediatric tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.


METHODS
Prospective, randomized, and placebo controlled clinical trial.


METHODS
Tertiary care facility in Ankara, Turkey.


METHODS
Sixty consecutive tonsillectomy patients randomized to two groups.


METHODS
The acetaminophen group was treated with antibiotics (amoxicillin-clavulonic acid), acetaminophen and placebo, acetaminophen-plus-honey group was treated with antibiotics (amoxicillin-clavulonic acid), acetaminophen, and honey. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was applied for subjective assessment of postoperative pains, while the number of painkillers taken daily and awakening at night due to pain were used for objective assessment. The amount of epithelization was used for assessment of tonsillary fossa recovery.


METHODS
The difference between acetaminophen and acetaminophen-plus-honey groups was statistically significant both in terms of VAS and number of painkillers taken within the first 2 postoperative days (p<0.001). Although there was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding the VAS scores on the 3rd postoperative day and after, the number of painkillers taken differed significantly until the 8th postoperative day (p<0.001 for first 7 postoperative days; p=0.003 for 8th day). No significant difference was found between groups regarding the number of awakening at night (p=0.36). Tonsillary fossa epithelization was more rapid in the acetaminophen-plus-honey group (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Oral administration of honey following pediatric tonsillectomy may relieve postoperative pain and may decrease the need for analgesics. Prospective, randomized, and double-blind studies should further be conducted in order to confirm the data obtained in this study and develop a standard protocol to achieve maximum clinical efficiency.
Ozlugedik
Samet
S
First Otorhinolaryngology Clinic, Numune Education and Research Hospital, Sihhiye, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. sametozlugedik@yahoo.com
Genc
Selahattin
S
Unal
Adnan
A
Elhan
Attila Halil
AH
Tezer
Mesut
M
Titiz
Ali
A
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006722:Honey; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014068:Tonsillectomy
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000082:Acetaminophen