Oral Flurbiprofen Spray for Posttonsillectomy Pain

• Published in: Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery 2016-07, Vol.155 (1), p.166-172
• Main Authors: Muderris, Togay, Gul, Fatih, Yalciner, Gokhan, Babademez, Mehmet Ali, Bercin, Sami, Kiris, Muzaffer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Adolescent; Adult; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - administration & dosage; Child; Double-Blind Method; Female; flurbiprofen; Flurbiprofen - administration & dosage; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; pain; Pain Measurement; Pain, Postoperative - drug therapy; Prospective Studies; Tonsillectomy; topical; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0194-5998; 1097-6817
• DOI: 10.1177/0194599816637865

Objective Tonsillectomy is still one of the most common surgical procedures, but there exists no standard guideline for pain management after tonsillectomy. Our aim is to determine whether oral spray of flurbiprofen reduces pain and has an influence on other morbid outcomes following tonsillectomy. Study Design Prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled. Setting Patients at Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. Subjects and Methods This study was performed on 84 patients (45 in flurbiprofen group, 39 in placebo group) who underwent tonsillectomy. The patients were randomly chosen, and each used oral spray of flurbiprofen 3 times daily or placebo solution at the same regimen. Efficacy was assessed by changes in Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Data were collected at postoperative days 1, 3, 5, and 7 for pain, bleeding, and healing. Data for Mallampati scores were also collected. Results There were no significant difference between groups with respect to the demographic data. The flurbiprofen group had statistically significant lower pain scores at days 1, 3, 5, and 7 (P = .000, P = .002, P = .001, P = .000, respectively). On days 3 and 7, pain scores were significantly different between different Mallampati groups (P = .049, P = .015, respectively). The flurbiprofen group required less analgesic than the placebo group during the study period on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 (P = .001, P = .001, P = .03, P = .001, respectively). Healing and side effects were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion In this study, topical use of flurbiprofen may reduce posttonsillectomy pain without any evidence of additional complications.