Issn Print: 1098-7339

Publication Date: 2008/09/01


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The Effects of Peripheral Nerve Blocks on Postoperative Analgesia Following ENT Procedures: 701

A. T.E. Jolayemi

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Background and Aim: The severity of post-tonsillectomy pain has led to delay in hospital discharge and increase burden on health care. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of intraoperative peripheral nerve blocks on postoperative analgesia following ENT procedures.
Method: Double Blind randomized control trial involving 57 patients of similar demographics and aged 5-65 years. Twenty seven patients (group1) had palatine blocks or surface anaesthesia (5 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine), in addition to standardized multimodal analgesia provided to the other thirty patients (group2). Analgesia was evaluated in the PACU (t1), 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 and 20 postoperative hours (t2-8) respectively using visual analogue scores. Patients with history of substance abuse were excluded.
Results: The average number of pain sufferers and use of rescue analgesia were higher for group 2 patients compared to group 1 at p< 0.05 and overall, more men had pain compared to women at p< 0.01. Severe pain was experienced only in group 2 patients.
Conclusion: The results show that where possible, peripheral nerve blocks or surface anaesthesia could significantly reduce pain and therfore, should be part of multimodal analgesia following routine ENT procedures. This will reduce burden on health care and enhance earlier discharge.

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