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Acetaminophen does not replace opioids as analgesic after pediatric spine surgery
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The administration of acetaminophen to children and adolescents following spine surgery provides pain relief but does not take the place of opioids taken concurrently with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in postoperative analgesia, according to this study.
In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, researchers analyzed 36 patients between the ages of 10 years and 18 years who received either 30 mg/kg of acetaminophen or 0.9% sodium chloride after scoliosis or spondylolisthesis surgery, according to the abstract.
“By inhibiting cyclo-oxygenase enzymes peripherally, NSAIDs [nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs] may inhibit bone healing,” Arja Hiller, MD, PhD, and colleagues stated in the abstract. “Acetaminophen, a centrally acting analgesic, does not have the adverse effects of NSAIDs and has improved analgesia in children after another orthopedic surgery.”
Hiller and colleagues noted that 39% of patients taking acetaminophen and 72% of patients in the control group had a VAS pain score at 6 or higher, although patients taking acetaminophen reported fewer hours in the surgical ward at that pain level over the control, according to the abstract. They also found no difference in oxycodone consumption at 24-hour follow-up in either group.
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