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Published on: November 6, 2019

Ropivacaine compared to bupivacaine for post-tonsillectomy pain relief in children: a randomized controlled study

Ertap Akoglu1, B Cagla Ozbakis Akkurt, Kerem Inanoglu

  • 1Department of Otolaryngology, Mustafa Kemal University Medical Faculty, Araştirma Hastanesi, 31100 Antakya, Turkey.

International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
|January 18, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Ropivacaine and bupivacaine provide equivalent pain relief after tonsillectomy in children. Both local anesthetics significantly reduced post-tonsillectomy pain compared to saline control.

Area of Science:

  • Anesthesiology
  • Pediatric Surgery
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • Post-tonsillectomy pain is a significant concern in pediatric surgical care.
  • Effective pain management strategies are crucial for improving patient recovery and satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of ropivacaine and bupivacaine for managing post-tonsillectomy pain in children.
  • To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of local anesthetic infiltration in pediatric tonsillectomy.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized controlled trial involving 46 children aged 2-12 years undergoing tonsillectomy.
  • Children were divided into three groups: bupivacaine infiltration, ropivacaine infiltration, and saline control.
  • Pain was assessed using the modified Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (mCHEOPS) at multiple postoperative time points.

Main Results:

  • No significant demographic differences were observed between the groups.
  • Pain scores were similar in the ropivacaine and bupivacaine groups (p>0.05).
  • Both ropivacaine and bupivacaine groups showed significantly lower pain scores compared to the control group at 1, 4, 12, 16, and 24 hours postoperatively (p<0.05).
  • Analgesic requirements and time to first analgesia were significantly improved in the anesthetic groups versus control (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

  • Local infiltration with ropivacaine is a safe and effective method for managing post-tonsillectomy pain in children.
  • Ropivacaine demonstrates equivalent efficacy to bupivacaine in reducing pediatric post-tonsillectomy pain.
  • These findings support the use of local anesthetics as a valuable component of multimodal pain management after tonsillectomy.
Abstract

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