• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

Ibuprofen Does Not Cause Increased Bleeding During Tonsillectomy, Adenotonsillectomy

by ENTtoday • October 14, 2018

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

How effective is oral ibuprofen as a preoperative analgesic after pediatric adenotonsillectomy?

Bottom line
Children treated with preoperative ibuprofen did not experience increased bleeding during or soon after tonsillectomy compared to controls.

You Might Also Like

  • Despite Risk of Bleeding, Dexamethasone Should Be Used after Tonsillectomy in Children
  • Commonly Used Clinical Doses of Ibuprofen Do Not Significantly Increase Risk of Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage in Children
  • NSAIDs Do Not Increase Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage Risk
  • Risk of Routine Use of Steroids after Adenotonsillectomy
Explore This Issue
October 2018

Background: Tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy is among the most common surgeries performed in pediatrics. Postoperative pain is universal and moderately severe following tonsillectomy, and there is no ideal postsurgical analgesia method. Recent

literature suggests that ibuprofen, unlike other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), does not increase bleeding after pediatric tonsillectomy.

Study design: Individual case control study of 112 children who did and 105 who did not receive preoperative ibuprofen prior to tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy.

Setting: Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and the Department of Pediatrics, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia.

Synopsis: At the study site, children who underwent tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy from January 2013 to December 2015 did not receive preoperative ibuprofen (Group 1). Those who underwent tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy from January 2016 to December 2017 received oral ibuprofen 7 mg/kg preoperatively (Group 2). In Group 1, 30 children underwent tonsillectomy, and 82 underwent adenotonsillectomy; 53% of tonsillectomies were intracapsular. In Group 2, 33 children underwent tonsillectomy, and 72 underwent adenotonsillectomy; 48% of tonsillectomies were intracapsular. There was no intraoperative blood loss in excess of 50 mL and no early postoperative bleeding episodes requiring surgical control for any child in either group. Two patients in Group 1 were treated surgically for delayed bleeding, compared with three in Group 2.

Limitations included separation in time of the non-ibuprofen and ibuprofen groups, which may have introduced systematic biases, non-blinding of the surgeon documenting bleeding, and use of electrosurgical hot techniques that may have masked the negative effects of ibuprofen on hemostasis.

Citation: Michael A, Buchinsky FJ, Isaacson G. Safety of preoperative ibuprofen in pediatric tonsillectomy [published online ahead of print May 14, 2018]. Laryngoscope. doi: 10.1002/lary.27241.

Filed Under: Literature Reviews, Pediatric Tagged With: ibuprophen, tonsillectomyIssue: October 2018

You Might Also Like:

  • Despite Risk of Bleeding, Dexamethasone Should Be Used after Tonsillectomy in Children
  • Commonly Used Clinical Doses of Ibuprofen Do Not Significantly Increase Risk of Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage in Children
  • NSAIDs Do Not Increase Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage Risk
  • Risk of Routine Use of Steroids after Adenotonsillectomy

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Would you choose a concierge physician as your PCP?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • 22 Symptoms Common to Patients with Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Keeping Watch for Skin Cancers on the Head and Neck

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • Excitement Around Gene Therapy for Hearing Restoration
    • “Small” Acts of Kindness
    • How To: Endoscopic Total Maxillectomy Without Facial Skin Incision
    • Science Communities Must Speak Out When Policies Threaten Health and Safety
    • Observation Most Cost-Effective in Addressing AECRS in Absence of Bacterial Infection

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939