Comparison of diclofenac and tenoxicam for postoperative analgesia with and without fentanyl in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy or tonsillectomy.

127 children scheduled for elective tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy were studied. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with a volatile agent. At induction the child received either rectal diclofenac 1 mg.kg-1 with or without fentanyl 0.75 microgram.kg-1 i.v., or intravenous tenoxicam 0.4 mg.kg-1 with or without fentanyl 0.75 microgram.kg-1 i.v. Blood loss was measured peroperatively. Nausea and vomiting scores, sedation scores and pain scores were recorded in the recovery room, at one, two, four and eight h postoperatively and at discharge. There were no significant differences in blood loss between the groups or between nausea and vomiting scores. Pain scores in the tenoxicam without fentanyl group were significantly higher in recovery (P < 0.05) than the diclofenac group without fentanyl and both fentanyl groups. This group required supplemental analgesia earlier although this was not significant. The pain scores in the diclofenac with fentanyl group were significantly lower at one h and four h than the group receiving diclofenac alone (P = 0.008 and 0.02 respectively).