COMPARISON OF THE ANALGESIC AND EMETIC PROPERTIES OF KETOROLAC AND MORPHINE FOR PEDIATRIC OUTPATIENT STRABISMUS SURGERY

In a prospective, double-blind, randomized study, we have compared iv. ketorolac and morphine in paediatric outpatients undergoing strabismus surgery. Forty-two ASA I or II children, aged 2-12 yr, were allocated randomly to receive either ketorolac 0.75 mg kg(-1) i.v. or morphine 0.1 mg kg(-1) iv. and metoclopramide 0.15 mg kg(-1). Anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with propofol and nitrous oxide. Pain was assessed at 15-min intervals until discharge, and the incidence of nausea and vomiting was recorded for she first 24 h. There was no difference in pain behaviour scores or recovery times. The incidence of nausea and vomiting during the first 24 h was 19% in the ketorolac group and 71% in the morphine group (P < 0.001). We concluded that ketorolac was an effective analgesic for this type of surgery and that it was associated with less postoperative emesis than morphine and metoclopramide.