Oral dantrolene sodium for tonsillectomy pain: a double-blind study

Antibiotic prophylaxis post-tonsillectomy: is it of benefit?

The decision to prescribe antibiotics post-tonsillectomy still remains controversial. However, recent changing trends in the tonsillar tissue microflora have been widely reported, with Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus and anaerobic organisms all being implicated. All of the above are beta-lactamase producers and thus render lactamase prone antibiotics inactive. We compared two groups of children, one on Amoxycillin and clavulanic acid (a lactamase stable antibiotic with anaerobic cover) for 1 week post tonsillectomy--Group A (N = 44), and another group on no treatment--Group B (N = 34). We compared tonsillar core, surface and postoperative tonsillar fossae bacteriological profiles in the two groups. The tonsil core pathogens included H. influenzae (64%) of which 9.5% were beta-lactamase producers, Streptococcus viridans (55.9%), S. aureus (37%) of which 86% were beta-lactamase producers, and anaerobes which were found in 25% of samples. We found that there was considerably less morbidity in those children receiving postoperative antibiotics compared to those who did not, as judged by the amount of analgesia consumed (p = 0.379), time to resumption of normal diet (p = 0.0072) and pain analogue scores (p = 0.0006). We feel that treating children who have undergone tonsillectomy with amoxycillin and clavulanic acid significantly reduces postoperative morbidity.

Dissection tonsillectomy: pattern of post-operative pain, medication and resumption of normal activity

A prospective study of 99 adults undergoing tonsillectomy was carried out to determine the pattern of post-operative pain, intake of medication and timing of return to work and normal swallowing. The differences in the pain scores, as measured by a visual analogue scale, between every third consecutive day following post-operative day four were found to be highly significant (p < 0.001). Sixty-six patients (66.6 per cent) required medication in the form of analgesics and/or antibiotics after the first post-operative day. Sixty-four out of a total of 82 patients (78.2 per cent) returned to work within 14 days of surgery. Ninety-six patients (97 per cent) reported normal swallowing within 14 days of surgery. These results suggest that the majority of adult patients undergoing tonsillectomy can be appropriately advised pre-operatively regarding the probable pattern and duration of post-operative pain and the timescales they can expect to return to work and normal swallowing.

The effect of fibrin sealant haemostasis on post-operative pain in tonsillectomy

Pain following tonsillectomy is an important problem. It is caused by the surgical trauma of excision and haemostasis. Numerous surgical and pharmacological solutions have been tried, with disappointing results. Fibrin sealant is a widely used atraumatic haemostatic agent. This study aims to determine whether tonsillectomy with fibrin sealant haemostasis results in less post-operative pain than that with the conventional technique of diathermy. Fifty consecutive adult patients undergoing tonsillectomy were prospectively studied. They were randomized to receive either fibrin sealant or diathermy haemostasis. Other pain variables were controlled. Pain was measured by a visual linear analogue scale and inter-incisor distance on both the day of operation and the first post-operative day. The patients and pain measurer were blind to the randomization. The results showed that tonsillectomy with fibrin sealant haemostasis was significantly (P < 0.05) less painful than that with diathermy on both days studied and by both methods of pain measurement.