The effect of peritonsilar lidocaine injection on post tonsillectomy pain in children: A triple blind clinical trial

Aim and Background: Pain management is very important in tonsillectomy in order to reduce the suffering and restlessness in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of peritonsillar injection of lidocaine and placebo preoperatively on postoperative pain relief Methods and Materials: This randomized triple blind clinical trial conducted on sixty 3-12- year-old children who were candidate for tonsillectomy. Children were randomly assigned to lidocaine and placebo groups. Anesthesia inducted similarly for all patients and peritonsillary 1 mg/kg lidocaine (per 2 ml volume) in the first group and 2 ml normal saline in the second group was injected. Pain assessment was performed using the self-report Oucher Scale and CHEOPS Findings: The mean pain score in lidocaine group in 5,15,30,60,120and 240 minutes after surgery was lower than placebo group but this difference (in Oucher scale) was only statistically significant at 240 minuets after surgery (P =0.03 Conclusions: The preoperative peritonsillar injection of lidocaine is an effective method of reducing post-tonsillectomy pain in children