title: Post-operative pain following coblation or monopolar electrocautery tonsillectomy in children: a prospective, single-blinded, randomised comparison.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare post-operative pain following tonsillectomy by either coblation or monopolar electrocautery in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A parallel-designed, prospective, single-blinded, randomised trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ambulatory surgical facility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty otherwise healthy paediatric patients undergoing coblation or electrocautery tonsillectomy by a fellowship-trained paediatric otolaryngologist.
  
  
  METHODS
  (i) The number of post-operative days with severe pain based on subjective qualification by the caretaker, (ii) post-operative days with pain rated ≥ 5 on a scale of 1-10, (iii) post-operative days requiring oral paracetamol/acetaminophen with codeine solution and (iv) post-operative days until resumption of a regular diet were assessed and recorded daily using a post-operative pain survey as a form of daily diary that was returned at the 2-week follow-up visit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients were consecutively enrolled into two groups of 40 patients. Average ages were 5.2 years for coblation tonsillectomy and 6.0 years for electrocautery tonsillectomy. The average number of post-operative days with severe pain was 4.2 for coblation and 5.9 for electrocautery (P = 0.006), days rating pain ≥ 5 were 3.6 for coblation and 4.8 for electrocautery (P = 0.037), days of codeine use were 2.5 for coblation and 2.9 for electrocautery (P = 0.324), and days until resumption of a regular diet were 5.2 for coblation and 6.2 for electrocautery (0.329).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Coblation tonsillectomy may reduce post-operative pain and the time until resumption of a regular diet compared to electrocautery tonsillectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Walner
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000379:methods*; D004598:Electrosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000379:methods*