LAUSR

IntroductionTo compare the short-term outcomes of pediatric patients who underwent tonsillectomy alone vs. tonsillectomy plus platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy in terms of postoperative pain, appetite status, analgesia requirement, and bleeding complications.Materials and methodsThis study included a total of 80 pediatric tonsillectomy patients (53.8% female, 46.2% male, aged 4–16 years), who were randomly allocated into tonsillectomy alone (TA group; n = 40) and tonsillectomy plus PRP therapy (TPRP group, n = 40) groups. Patient demographic data (age, gender) and postoperative data of visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores (postoperative 2nd hour, 1–10 days), appetite scores (postoperative 1–7 days), and analgesia requirement (postoperative 1–10 days) and bleeding complications were recorded.ResultsA significant gradual decrease was noted in pain scores starting from the 3rd postoperative day reaching 0.0 ± 0.0 and 0.50 ± 0.88 on Day 10 in the TPRP and TA groups, respectively (p < 0.001 for each). Compared to the TA group, the TPRP group was associated with significantly lower pain scores (Day 1 to Day 10), better appetite scores (Day 1 to Day 6), a lower requirement for analgesia (Day1 to Day 10) and fewer common bleeding complications (1 vs. 4 patients) in the postoperative period (p < 0.001 for each).ConclusionIn conclusion, this study of pediatric tonsillectomy patients revealed the superiority of tonsillectomy with PRP over tonsillectomy alone in terms of effectiveness in reducing post-tonsillectomy pain and improving appetite status, together with a lower requirement for analgesia and a reduced risk of post-tonsillectomy bleeding during the first 10 postoperative days.