The effect of flurbiprofen oral spray and ibuprofen vs ibuprofen alone on postoperative tonsillectomy pain: An open, randomised, controlled trial

Objective: This prospective clinical study was carried out to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of oral spray form of flurbiprofen in the treatment of postoperative pain in tonsillectomy patients.

Study design: Open, randomised, controlled clinical study.

Setting: Tertiary care training and research hospital.

Participants: One hundred (53 males, 47 females) with an age range of 18-53 years old (mean 27.4 ± 9.3 SD) undergoing tonsillectomy were enrolled in this prospective controlled study.

Main outcome measures: Patients receiving oral ibuprofen and flurbiprofen as spray form were enrolled as study group (53), whereas patients receiving only oral ibuprofen were enrolled as control group (47) in postoperative period. Postoperative pain was evaluated through visual analogue scale on 12th hour, first, third and seventh days after surgery.

Results: The mean maximal pain score of patients who have received flurbiprofen spray and ibuprofen was 3.36 ± 1.93 SD that was statistically lower than the mean maximal pain score of patients who were medicated with only ibuprofen which was 4.06 ± 1.29 SD on postoperative seventh day (P = .013).

Conclusion: This study revealed that addition of flurbiprofen spray to oral ibuprofen is effective in the management of postoperative pain in tonsillectomy patients with no notable complications.