Analgesia following adult tonsillectomy: a comparative study of solpadeine and a soluble form of dextropropoxyphene napsylate and paracetamol

Abstract

A single-centre, single blind, between-patient study was carried out to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of Solpadeine and a soluble form of dextropropoxyphene napsylate and paracetamol (DNP) in the alleviation of pain following bilateral tonsillectomy in adult patients. Patients were randomly allocated to receive either two Solpadeine or two DNP 6-hourly over a period of 3 days starting on the day after the operation. The clinician assessed the patients' condition at the time of operation and again at the end of the 3-day treatment period. The patients determined the onset of analgesic action using visual analogue scales and also recorded the severity of their pain at various times during the day. Seventy-four results were analyzed. Twenty per cent of those receiving Solpadeine were considered by the clinician to have excellent pain relief compared with only 8.8% on DNP. On Day 2, 51.3% of patients on Solpadeine described the pain relief as good or excellent in comparison with 37.5% on DNP. However, these differences were not statistically significant. It is concluded that Solpadeine and DNP are both effective analgesics in relieving post-tonsillectomy pain, but that Solpadeine achieves a greater degree of good or excellent pain relief and is, therefore, to be preferred.