The Efficacy of Intravenous Magnesium Sulfate versus Intravenous Paracetamol on Children Posttonsillectomy Pain and Analgesic Requirement: A Randomized Controlled Study.

backgroundOne of the most common complications of tonsillectomy is pain, which leading to delayed recovery and later hospital discharge.

aimsWe intended to compare the efficacy of magnesium sulfate versus paracetamol on the posttonsillectomy pain and analgesic requirement. SETTINGS AND

designThis study design was a prospective randomized controlled double-blinded clinical study. PATIENTS AND

methodsA total of 60 children with the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classes I and II, aged 3-12 years, scheduled for tonsillectomy were randomly divided into two groups each group contains 30 patients: (Group M): received an initial loading dose of magnesium sulfate 30 mg/kg over 15 min started with induction followed by continuous infusion of 10 mg/kg/h for 1 h regardless of the operation time and (Group P): received paracetamol infusion 10 mg/kg started with induction and continued for 1 h. Postoperatively, a blinded postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurse observed the quality of analgesia using the face, legs, activity, cry, and consolability pain scores, bleeding, and sedation. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Student's

resultsRegarding postoperative pain, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups at the time of admission in PACU (

conclusionsMagnesium sulfate provided better postoperative analgesia and reduced need for analgesics after tonsillectomy compared to paracetamol, and regarding the incidence of bleeding and the degree of sedation the outcome in both groups was readily comparable.