The use of honey in the perioperative care of tonsillectomy patients-A narrative review

Abstract

Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures in childhood. While generally safe, it often is associated with a difficult early recovery phase with poor oral intake, dehydration, difficult or painful swallowing, postoperative bleeding, infection and/or otalgia. Better pain management and the availability of more child friendly medications are within the top consumer priorities in perioperative medicine, highlighting the importance of alternative pain treatments. This review focuses on the potential role of honey in the postoperative setting, its effects, and mechanisms of action. While the application of honey post-tonsillectomy may offer analgesic and healing benefits, it may also reduce postoperative bleeding. A systematic search was carried out using the search terms honey, tonsillectomy. Filters were applied to human studies and English. No other search terms were used or age filters applied to yield a broader range of results. Seven pediatric, four adult, and two studies of mixed pediatric and adult patients with sample sizes ranging from 8 to 52 patients were included in this review. Effect sizes ranged from small to huge across the studies. While the application of honey post-tonsillectomy may offer analgesic and healing benefits, it may also reduce postoperative bleeding. However, while there are potential benefits based on the chemical composition of honey, the current literature is of variable quality and there is need for high quality clinical trials.

Keywords: anesthesia; honey; pain; pediatric; perioperative; tonsillectomy.