EFFECT OF POSTOPERATIVE DEXAMETHASONE ON PAIN, EMESIS AND HAEMORRHAGE IN TONSILLECTOMY BY DISSECTION METHOD

Tonsillectomy

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the effect of postoperative intravenous dose of dexamethasone on morbidity in patients undergoing tonsillectomy.
Design: Randomized control trial.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in ENT Department Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital (CMH) Muzaffarabadfrom 10th Jan 2010 to 15th Feb 2011.
Patients and Methods: After getting informed consent, a total of 60 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected and tonsillectomy by dissection method was carried out. They were divided into two groups of 30 eachusing a random numbers table. Group A received 0.25 mg/kg body weight (maximum 20 mg) of Dexamethasone postoperatively intravenously for 03 days while group B (control group) did not receive any steroid.
Results: In group A, 80% patients had mild pain, 16.7% had moderate pain and 3.3% had a severe pain while in group B, 30% patients had mild pain, 6.7% had moderate pain and 63.3% had severe pain (p< 0.05). In group A, 76.7% patients had mild emesis while in group B, 86.7% had moderate emesis (p< 0.05). There was an insignificant difference in secondary hemorrhage.
Conclusion: Dexamethasone given postoperatively significantly reduces the morbidity that is pain, episodes of emesis thus early recovery to a normal lifestyle with no effect on secondary hemorrhage in patients undergoing Tonsillectomy by dissection method.