Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Impact of honey on post‐tonsillectomy pain in children ( BEE PAIN FREE Trial): a multicentre, double‐blind, randomised controlled trial*
Authors' conclusion
Two to three doses daily of oral honey/placebo in children post-extracapsular tonsillectomy for 7 days, in addition to regular paracetamol, ibuprofen and as required oxycodone did not result in a clinical improvement in pain or recovery over a 14-day follow-up period.
Study context
- Population
- Children undergoing extracapsular tonsillectomy by coblation, 3 centres in Western Australia20% lost to follow-up or withdrew
- Participants
- 400 children
- Comparison
- Marri honey or Manuka honey or placebo plus standard treatment vs standard treatment alone
- Primary endpoint
- Daily postoperative pain scores
Methodological detailsmulticentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, four-arm
- Multicentre
- Double-blind
- Placebo-controlled
- Four-arm
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Postoperative pain scores
- Honey did not impact postoperative pain scores significantly; all groups showed similar trajectories
- Unchanged with as-treated analysis or imputed models for missing data
- Mean honey doses taken 2–3 per day over 7 days
Further findings
Duration of significant pain
- Most children experienced significant pain until around POD 8
Oral tolerance · around day 6
- Some improved oral tolerance in honey and placebo groups
Medical re-presentations, simple analgesia and oxycodone usage
- No clinically significant differences between groups
Safety
- Increased vomiting in honey and placebo groups during earlier days
Original publication
Impact of honey on post‐tonsillectomy pain in children ( BEE PAIN FREE Trial): a multicentre, double‐blind, randomised controlled trial*. Anaesthesia. Published 5 May 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →