ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of preemptive analgesia is still controversial. This study was designed to compare the effects of nalbuphine used in the pre-anesthesia period and after surgery for pain control when performing adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy in children. METHODS: Two hundreds four patients (aged 3 to 12 years) were randomly allocated into two groups: the preemptive group (group P, n = 98) and the intraoperative group (group I, n = 106). Nalbuphine 0.1 mg/kg was administered into the patients before induction of anesthesia in group P and it was injected at least 10 minutes after the beginning of surgery in group I. The anesthesia was performed in the conventional fashion. The pain score, the sedation score and the agitation score were checked and recorded in the postanesthetic room (PAR) at arrival (0), at 15 minutes and at 30 minutes. RESULTS: The pain scores for PAR 0, 15 and 30 minutes were significantly lower in group I than those in group P. The other sedation scores or agitation scores were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Nalbuphine used during the pre-anesthetic period was less effective than that used in the intraoperative period for pain control when performing adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy in children.