When a child needs their tonsils out, parents worry about pain and safety during recovery. This study compared two pain medicines given during anesthesia: esketamine and fentanyl.
Researchers gave 54 children either esketamine or fentanyl during anesthesia for tonsil removal. They checked pain scores at 2, 8, and 24 hours after surgery. Both groups had similar pain levels. However, children getting esketamine had higher blood pressure and heart rate right after the medicine was given and at the start of surgery.
Other measures—sedation levels, surgery time, recovery time, and side effects within 48 hours—were similar between groups. The study did not report serious side effects or how many children had any side effects.
This was a small trial, and results are based on the abstract without detailed effect sizes. It shows esketamine can be an option for pain control in kids getting tonsils out, but it may cause a temporary rise in blood pressure.