• N P Parker and D L Walner.
• Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
• Clin Otolaryngol. 2011 Oct 1; 36 (5): 468-74.

ObjectiveTo compare post-operative pain following tonsillectomy by either coblation or monopolar electrocautery in children.DesignA parallel-designed, prospective, single-blinded, randomised trial.SettingAmbulatory surgical facility.Study ParticipantsEighty otherwise healthy paediatric patients undergoing coblation or electrocautery tonsillectomy by a fellowship-trained paediatric otolaryngologist.Main Outcome Measures(i) The number of post-operative days with severe pain based on subjective qualification by the caretaker, (ii) post-operative days with pain rated ≥ 5 on a scale of 1-10, (iii) post-operative days requiring oral paracetamol/acetaminophen with codeine solution and (iv) post-operative days until resumption of a regular diet were assessed and recorded daily using a post-operative pain survey as a form of daily diary that was returned at the 2-week follow-up visit.ResultsPatients were consecutively enrolled into two groups of 40 patients. Average ages were 5.2 years for coblation tonsillectomy and 6.0 years for electrocautery tonsillectomy. The average number of post-operative days with severe pain was 4.2 for coblation and 5.9 for electrocautery (P = 0.006), days rating pain ≥ 5 were 3.6 for coblation and 4.8 for electrocautery (P = 0.037), days of codeine use were 2.5 for coblation and 2.9 for electrocautery (P = 0.324), and days until resumption of a regular diet were 5.2 for coblation and 6.2 for electrocautery (0.329).ConclusionsCoblation tonsillectomy may reduce post-operative pain and the time until resumption of a regular diet compared to electrocautery tonsillectomy.© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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