title: Pain relief for children after adenotonsillectomy.
abstract: Effective pain relief following adenotonsillectomy in children remains a challenge. This study evaluated the effects of intramuscular 0.5 mg/kg ketamine, 1 mg/kg tramadol or 1 mg/kg meperidine on post-operative pain and recovery in 45 children aged 1-7 years undergoing adenotonsillectomy. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopental or sevoflurane (with succinylcholine for intubation) and was maintained with sevoflurane in oxygen and nitrous oxide. Post-operative pain was scored blind using a modified Toddler-Preschooler Post-Operative Pain Scale 30, 60, 120 and 240 min after tracheal extubation. Post-operative agitation scores were also recorded. Mean post-operative pain score was significantly higher in the tramadol-treated group compared with the meperidine-treated group 120 min after extubation. At all other time-points after extubation, mean post-operative pain scores were similar for the three treatment groups. Ketamine was associated with a significantly higher mean agitation score compared with tramadol and meperidine. We conclude that the effects of ketamine, meperidine and tramadol on post-operative pain following adenotonsillectomy in children were similar.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey. fertug@hotmail.com
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ertugrul
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akbas
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karsli
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kayacan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trakya
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007649:Ketamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008614:Meperidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014147:Tramadol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D014147:Tramadol; D007649:Ketamine; D008614:Meperidine