The impact of platelet-rich plasma therapy on short-term postoperative outcomes of pediatric tonsillectomy patients

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 4-16years), 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, 1-10days), appetite scores (postoperative 1-7days), and analgesia requirement (postoperative 1-10days) and bleeding complications were recorded.ResultsA significant gradual decrease was noted in pain scores starting from the 3rd postoperative day reaching 0.00.0 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).Conclusion In 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.