International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology (2004) 68, 1047—1051 Can post-adenotonsillectomy morbidity be reduced by intravenous 24 h hydration in pediatric patients following adenotonsillectomy? E. Egeli a , U. Harputluoglu a, * , O. Ozturk a , F. Oghan a , S. Kocak b a Department of Otorhinolaryngology–—Head and Neck Surgery, University of Abant Izzet Baysal, Düzce Faculty of Medicine, Düzce, Turkey b Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology–—Head and Neck Surgery, SSK Düzce Hospital, Düzce, Turkey Received 22 December 2003; received in revised form 16 March 2004; accepted 18 March 2004 KEYWORDS Twenty-four hours hydration; Pediatric patients; Adenotonsillectomy Summary Objective: To determine the benefit of 24h intravenous hydration for pediatric postoperative adenotonsillectomy patients. Study design: A prospective, randomized controlled clinical study. Methods: The study is consisting of two groups of pediatric patients following adenotonsillectomy performed in a university hospital. One group received 24 h IV hydration at hospital while the other did not have IV hydra- tion. Chi-square and two-tailed unpaired Student’s ttests were used to compare the two independent groups. P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results: Although the postoperative parameters such as nausea, fever, vomiting, odor, bleed- ing, otalgia and trismus were not statistically different between the two groups based on chi-square analysis (P > 0.05), a significant pain-relieving effect was seen in hydra- tion group after the second day (P < 0.05). There were no complications associated with intravenous hydration. Conclusion: Results of the current study suggest that 24 h IV hydration can reduce postoperative pain in late postoperative period follow- ing adenotonsillectomy in children but does not offer much advantage over without IV hydration therapy based on a number of other parameters. Furthermore, it seems to be cost effective, safe and easy and even these are encouraging for further studies in the future. © 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Tonsillectomy is one of the most commonly per- formed operations in pediatric patients. Children * Corresponding author. Present address: A ˙ IBÜ, Düzce Tıp Fakültesi KBB AD, Konuralp, Düzce 81620, Turkey. Tel.: +90-380-541-41-07; fax: +90-380-541-41-05. E-mail address: ugurharputluoglu@hotmail.com (U. Harputluoglu). may lose a higher percentage of total blood vol- ume during surgery than adults, and often struggle to maintain adequate hydration. Before a patient was discharged home he or she was required to drink at least 20 cm 3 /kg of any type of fluid. Some of them can take sufficient oral fluid but unfortu- nately most of them cannot take the oral fluid they need, they are unwilling to drink and eat because of the odynophagia with oral intake. As a result, dehydration frequently causes delay in recovery, 0165-5876/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2004.03.012