I.v. ketoprofen for analgesia after tonsillectomy: comparison of pre- and post-operative administration

We have evaluated the safety and efficacy of ketoprofen during tonsillectomy in 106 adults receiving standardized anaesthesia. Forty-one patients received ketoprofen 0.5 mg kg(-1) at induction ('pre' ketoprofen group) and 40 patients after surgery ('post' ketoprofen group), in both cases followed by a continuous ketoprofen infusion of 3 mg kg(-1) over 24 h; 25 patients received normal saline (placebo group). Oxycodone was used for rescue analgesia. Patients in the ketoprofen groups experienced less pain than those in the placebo group. There was no difference between the study groups in the proportion of patients who were given oxycodone during the first 4 h after surgery. However, during the next 20 h, significantly more patients in the placebo group (96%) received oxycodone compared with patients in the 'pre' ketoprofen group (66%) and the 'post' ketoprofen group (55%) (P=0.002). Patients in the placebo group received significantly more oxycodone doses than patients in the two ketoprofen groups (P=0.001). Two patients (5%) in the 'pre' ketoprofen group and one (3%) in the 'post' ketoprofen group had post-operative bleeding between 4 and 14 h. All three patients required electrocautery.