BACKGROUND: In literature, the use of ketamine for the preventative analgesia in the management of postoperative pain is controversial. The purpose of the present study was the clinical assessment of the efficacy of preincisional peritonsillar infiltration of two doses of ketamine on postoperative pain relief compared with peritonsillar saline in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.
METHODS/MATERIALS: Seventy-five ASA physical status I and II patients, aged 3-12 years, scheduled for adenotonsillectomy were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients were divided into three groups of 25 each and received a local peritonsillar infiltration of 0.9% saline (group S), ketamine 0.5 mg x kg(-1) (group K1), or ketamine 1 mg x kg(-1) (group K2). All medications were 2 ml in volume which was applied 1 ml per tonsil 3 min prior to tonsillectomy. The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) and Wilson sedation scale were used to evaluate pain levels and sedative conditions, respectively.
RESULTS: Group S had significantly higher CHEOPS scores than group K1 and K2. Both K1 and K2 groups had comparable scores, which were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). During 24 h after surgery, 16 patients in group S and no patients in groups K1 or K2 needed analgesics (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: A 0.5 or 1 mg.kg(-1) dose of ketamine given at approximately 3 min before surgery by peritonsillar infiltration provides efficient pain relief during 24 h after surgery without side-effects in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.
<b>BACKGROUND: </b>Ketamine is used increasingly in paediatric anaesthetic practice to prolong the action of a caudal block. This study was designed to determine if adding S(+)-ketamine 0.5 mg kg(-1) allows a lower concentration of levobupivacaine to be used for caudal anaesthesia without loss of clinical effectiveness.<b>METHODS: </b>One hundred and sixty-four children (ASA I or II) aged 3 months-6 yr were randomly allocated to receive 1 ml kg(-1) of levobupivacaine 0.15% with 0.5 mg kg(-1) S(+)-ketamine (Group 1), levobupivacaine 0.175% with 0.5 mg kg(-1) S(+)-ketamine (Group 2), or levobupivacaine 0.2% (Group 3) by the caudal route. Pain, motor block, sedation, and requirement for postoperative analgesia were assessed up to 6 h after operation.<b>RESULTS: </b>There was no significant difference between the groups in effectiveness at first surgical incision. Significantly lower analgesic requirements were reported in Group 2 compared with Group 3 at wakeup, 180 and 360 min after operation. Time to first rescue analgesia was longer in Group 2 compared with Group 1 or 3. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of analgesia free time demonstrated a significant advantage of Group 2 over Groups 1 and 3 (log rank P=0.05). The incidence of postoperative motor block was not significantly different between the groups. No excess sedation or dysphoric reactions were observed in the ketamine groups.<b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>The addition of 0.5 mg kg(-1) S(+)-ketamine to levobupivacaine 0.175% for caudal analgesia for lower abdominal and urological surgery is significantly more effective in providing postoperative analgesia than levobupivacaine 0.15% with 0.5 mg kg(-1) S(+)-ketamine or levobupivacaine 0.2%.
Previous studies have suggested that ketamine, an n-methyl-d-aspartate (nmda) receptor antagonist, provides a pre-emptive analgesic effect and pre-emptive analgesia improves postoperative pain management. The aim of this study was to determine the effict of pre-incisional vs. post-incisional intravenous low dose of racemic ketamine in postoperative pain in children undergoing inguinal hernia repair. Seventy-five children aged 1-6 years who were scheduled for inguinal herniorrhaphy were included in a prospective, double-blind randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomly allocated to three groups (pre-incisional, post-incisional and control). Patients in pre-incisional group received an intravenous bolus of racemic ketamine (0.25 mg/kg) before surgical incision and patients in post-incisional group received the same dose of racemic ketamine after surgical incision. Children of control group received intravenous boluses of normal saline. In post anesthesia care unit and pediatric surgical ward, the degree of pain and sedation, additional analgesic requirements and side effects were evaluated. There were no differences between groups with respect to demographic and hemodynamic parameters. Pain and sedation scores were not statistically different between groups during 24 h study. In addition, there was no significant difference among groups in number of supplementary analgesic requirements and postoperative nausea and vomiting in the first 24 h. No other side effects were reported during the study period. We found that low dose racemic ketamine administered prior to surgical incision has no pre-emptive effect on post-operative pain and supplementary analgesic requirement during the first 24 h after herniorrhaphy in pediatric patients.
Objectives: To compare th effects of intramuscular ketamine with pethidine and placebo on post operative shivering in children undergoing tonsillectomy. Methods: A prospective randomized double-blind study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Naval Base Hospital, Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from November 2006 to October 2007. One hundred and twenty children (American Society of Anesthesiologists Grade 1, aged 5-12 years) were enrolled. Children were randomly allocated to receive ketamine 1mg/kg (group K, n=40), or pethidine 0.5 mg/kg (group P, n=40), or normal saline (group S, n=40) intramuscularly just after induction of general anesthesia. Hemodynamic parameters, oxygen saturation and tympanic temperature were measured anf recorded before induction of anesthesia and at regular intervals thereafter. An investigator blinded to the treatment group, graded postoperative shivering using a 5 point scale. Results: The number of patients shivering on arrival to the recovery room and at 10 and 20 minutes after operation were significantly less in groups K (1,1,1) than in group S (19,12,17). No patient that received pethidine shivered. The time to first analgesic requirement in group S was shorter than groups K and P (p=0.001). Conclusion: The study indicates that the use of a prophylactic low dose ketamine was found to be effective in preventing post anesthesia shivering in children undergoing tonsillectomy. Ketamine may have at least theoretical advantages over pethidine as regard respiratory depression, nausea, and vomiting.
BACKGROUND: Tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed operations in children and frequently associated with moderate-to-severe pain. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of a subhypnotic dose of ketamine on postoperative pain and morphine consumption after tonsillectomy in children. METHODS: This randomized double-blind study involved 84 children, 2 to 12-year-olds, undergoing elective outpatient tonsillectomy. Children were assigned to 2 groups. Group K received morphine and ketamine, 0.25 mg/kg, at induction and Group M received morphine. Modified Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (mCHEOP) scale was used to evaluate postoperative pain. Pain, morphine consumption, and unwanted side effects were recorded for a 24-hour period. One-way analysis of variance and χ² tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Pain scores and adverse events were similar between the 2 groups. Although morphine consumption was less in the ketamine group during the immediate postoperative period, total morphine consumption over the course of the study was not significantly different-between the 2 groups. Fewer patients in the ketamine group required supplementary oral analgesia in the postoperative surgical unit. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of ketamine 0.25 mg/kg at induction of anesthesia did not decrease postoperative morphine consumption in children undergoing tonsillectomy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tonsillectomy is frequently associated with postoperative pain of considerable duration, which is usually accompanied by the substantial consumption of both opioid and non-opioid analgesics. Despite the use of different surgical and anaesthetic techniques in the search for safe and effective post-tonsillectomy pain relief, this problem remains a clinical dilemma. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the potential effects of topically administered ketamine and morphine by an oral rinse into the tonsillar fossae.
METHODS: In all, 60 children, 15 for each group, aged between 3 and 12 yr scheduled for tonsillectomy were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Study drugs were administered to both tonsillar fossae for 5 min. Group K received 0.4 mL (20 mg) ketamine in 10 mL artificial saliva, Group KM received 0.4 mL (20 mg) ketamine + 5 mL (20 mg) 4 per thousand morphine aqueous solution in 5 mL artificial saliva, Group M received 5 mL (20 mg) 4 per thousand morphine aqueous solution in 5 mL artificial saliva, Group C received only 10 mL artificial saliva. Postoperative pain, nausea, vomiting, sedation and bleeding were evaluated.
RESULTS: Pain scores were higher in the control group at arrival in the recovery ward (P < 0.05). Morphine and ketamine groups had longer effective analgesia time than the morphine + ketamine and control groups. The 24-h analgesic consumption was significantly higher in the control group.
CONCLUSION: Topical ketamine and morphine seems to be a safe and easy analgesic approach for decreasing adenotonsillectomy pain.
This study compared the effect of single-dose caudal epidural bupivacaine, bupivacaine plus ketamine and bupivacaine plus tramadol for postoperative pain management in children having surgery for inguinal hernia. Following ethics committee approval and informed parental consent, 75 children ASA PS I and II, between three and nine years of age and scheduled for elective unilateral inguinal hernia repair with general anaesthesia were recruited. The patients were randomly divided into three groups to receive 0.5 ml/kg caudal bupivacaine 0.25% (group B), bupivacaine 0.25% plus tramadol 1 mg/kg (group BT) or bupivacaine 0.25% plus ketamine 0.5 mg/kg (group BK). The injections were performed under general anaesthesia. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry, respiratory rate and sedation and pain scores were recorded at defined intervals following recovery from anaesthesia. The groups were similar in age, weight and duration of operation (P >0.05). No patient experienced hypotension, bradycardia or respiratory depression. Duration of analgesia was (mean+/-SD) 6.5+/-4.1 h in group B, 9.2+/-3.9 h in group BK, and 8.5+/-3.1 h in group BT (P <0.05). More patients in group B required supplementary analgesics in the first 24 h (P <0.05). Sedation scores were comparable in all groups. Incidence of emesis and pruritus was similar in all the groups. Caudally administered 0.5 ml/kg bupivacaine 0.25% plus ketamine or bupivacaine 0.25% plus tramadol 1 mg/kg provided significantly longer duration of analgesia without an increase in the adverse effects when compared to bupivacaine alone.
