When it comes to pain relief and minimum side effects, ibuprofen is more suitable than oral morphine for children recovering from minor orthopedic surgery, results of a new clinical trial suggest. Researchers observed reaction to painkillers in 154 children aged 5 to 17 years who underwent minor orthopedic surgery, such as keyhole surgery on joints, ligament and tendon repair, suture or hardware removal. Oral morphine and ibuprofen groups were similarly effective for pain relief; the children receiving morphine reported more adverse side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness and constipation.
Authors:
Naveen Poonai, Natasha Datoo, Samina Ali, Megan Cashin, Amy L. Drendel, Rongbo Zhu, Natasha Lepore, Michael Greff, Michael Rieder, Debra Bartley
Corresponding author:
Naveen Poonai, Lawson Health Research Institute; Emergency Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, ON, Email: poonai@hotmail.com
Original paper published in CMAJ on October 10, 2017.
