Pain on the first postoperative day after tonsillectomy in adults: A comparison of metamizole versus etoricoxib as baseline analgesic.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo compare the effect of metamizole versus etoricoxib as baseline analgesic for treating postoperative pain after tonsillectomy.DesignSingle centre prospective cohort study.SettingTwo consecutive cohorts of tonsillectomy patients.Participants124 patients (n = 55 treated with etoricoxib, n = 69 with metamizole); median age 30.5 years; 50% women.Main outcome measuresPatients rated their pain on first postoperative day using the questionnaires of the German-wide project Quality Improvement in Postoperative Pain Treatment (QUIPS) including numeric rating scales (NRS, 0-10) for pain determination. The influence of preoperative and postoperative parameters on patients' pain was estimated by univariate and multivariate statistical analysis.ResultsThe demographic parameters showed no differences between the patients in the metamizole group and the etoricoxib group (all p>0.05) with one exception: Patients in the metamizole group had significantly more preoperative pain than patients in the etoricoxib group (p = 0.001). The metamizole group had a mean postoperative pain in activity of 4.4 ± 2.1 and the etoricoxib group of 4.5 ± 2.2. Maximal pain for the metamizole group and the etoricoxib group were 5.6 ± 2.2 and 6.1 ± 1.9, respectively. Pain in activity, maximal pain and minimal pain were not different between both groups (p = 0.652, p = 0.113, p = 0.276, respectively). Patients of the etoricoxib group received more frequently piritramide in recovery room as demand medication (p = 0.046). In the whole cohort, patients with peritonsillar abscess had more preoperative pain in comparison to chronic tonsillitis (pConclusionEtoricoxib does not have an advantage as baseline analgesic for post tonsillectomy pain in comparison to metamizole.