Management of postoperative pain in children following extractions of primary teeth under general anaesthesia: a comparison of paracetamol, Voltarol and no analgesia.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare three different pain relief regimes and the respective levels of pain recorded by children undergoing extractions of primary teeth under general anaesthesia.


METHODS
This was a tri-sited study carried out in three similar hospital settings, each with a different pain relief protocol. The subjects were 70 children from each site who were aged between 3 and 12 years, and were undergoing routine extractions of primary teeth. All children from the three centres used a self-report visual analogue scale to record pain preoperatively and postoperatively (15 min after recovery), and relevant pain-relief medication was noted. The efficacy of the three different pain relief regimes was then compared.


RESULTS
Children reported significantly less pain when rectal Voltarol was provided prior to the extractions, as compared to paracetamol or no analgesia. The greatest amount of pain was reported by the group who had received no analgesia.


CONCLUSIONS
Voltarol appears to be the better pre-emptive analgesic for dental extractions under general anaesthesia when compared with paracetamol and no analgesia.
O'Donnell
Amanda
A
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Eastman Dental Hospital, London, UK. amandaodon@hotmail.com
Henderson
Mary
M
Fearne
Janice
J
O'Donnell
David
D
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D004008:Diclofenac; D000082:Acetaminophen