Cahiers d'anesthésiologie
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Cahiers d'anesthésiologie · Nov 1989
[Treatment of postoperative pain in children in the recovery room. Use of morphine and propacetamol by the intravenous route].
The analgesic efficiency of morphine and propacetamol for postoperative pain, in the recovery room, was studied in two groups of children, who had undergone either orthopedic or visceral surgery. An injection of 50 mcg/kg of morphine chlorhydrate was given to the first group of 239 children ASA I, who were admitted to the recovery room and who presented signs of severe pain (agitation, crying, complaining). The analgesic efficiency of morphine was judged on physiological criteria (blood pressure, heart rate) and on behavioral criteria (calming of the child). ⋯ These two successive studies show the need for an analgesic protocol for children in the recovery room. Propacetamol should be administered first and then, if insufficient, followed by only one injection of morphine. This protocol of propacetamol and morphine seems to be satisfactory and thus avoids all pernicious side effects.