title: Non-pharmacological treatment of post-tonsillectomy pain.
abstract: Tonsillectomy is a very frequent procedure, particularly subject to postoperative pain that is considered long lasting and intense. Regulatory changes in the analgesic armamentarium, especially in children, are making the management of post-tonsillectomy pain more difficult. The present article provides an update on non-medical treatments that can be associated to classical analgesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature review of all studies of non-medical management in tonsillectomy and postoperative analgesia, without restrictions of date, was performed on the Pubmed and Embase databases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The treatment modalities described in the 24 selected studies could be categorized as behavioral, local, acupuncture and general.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although most studies reported benefit in terms of post-tonsillectomy pain, the small number of studies per category precluded recommendations for current practice. It nevertheless seems useful to consider and assess these techniques, to determine whether they have a role to play in the post-tonsillectomy analgesic armamentarium.
authors.affiliation: Service d'ORL et chirurgie cervico-faciale pédiatrique, hôpital Jeanne-de-Flandre, CHRU de Lille, avenue Eugène-Avinée, 59037 Lille cedex, France. Electronic address: pierre.fayoux@chru-lille.fr.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fayoux
authors.affiliation: Service de rhumatologie, centre de prise en charge de la douleur chronique, CHU Dupuytren, 2, avenue Martin-Luther-King, 87042 Limoges cedex, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management / Q000592:standards*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*
keywords: Acupuncture; Behavioral therapy; Local care; Non-medical treatment; Pain; Tonsillectomy