Every year there are approximately 530,000 tonsillectomies performed in the U.S. on children who are under the age of 15-years-old. Compared to the number of procedures performed three decades ago, when the average annual number of procedures hit 1.5 million, this number has dropped substantially.

Today, other methods are now employed, and tonsil removal is done as a last resort. In fact, 80 percent of tonsillectomies are for treatment of sleep apnea in children.

However, a new study reveals that the standard medical aftercare these children receive may be dangerous, and under certain cases, fatal. Ninety-one children, between one and 10-years-old, participated in the study.

The study was conducted by researchers from McMaster University who worked with a group of children who suffered from sleep apnea and were having tonsillectomies performed as a way to cure the condition. Sleep apnea occurs when there is an obstruction blocking a person’s airway. This can happen for a number of reasons, including swollen tonsils and/or adenoids.

The research team divided the children into two groups. The first group was given the standard painkiller combination that most doctors prescribed to children upon discharge after this surgery—oral morphine and acetaminophen medication taken every four hours. The second group was given oral ibuprofen every six hours and acetaminophen every four hours. Doses for medication in both groups were based on each child’s weight.

In measuring children’s pain, the team discovered that pain control was the same in both groups. The ibuprofen was just as effective as the morphine in controlling children’s pain. Yet, the oxygen levels in each group were significantly different.

On the first night after the surgery, 68 percent of the children in the second group had improvement in their oxygen levels compared to only 14 percent in the first group. However, what was most concerning to the study team was the number of “oxygen desaturation events” which occurred. These events happen when there is a drop in the oxygen concentration of the blood. The first group had over a dozen more of these events every hour than the second group did. This alarmed the research team so much that they immediately halted the study.

In a press release, one of the study’s authors, Dr. Gideon Koren, said, “The evidence here clearly suggests children with obstructive sleep apnea should not be given morphine for postoperative pain.”

If you or someone in your family has become injured or ill from incorrect or improperly prescribed medication, please contact an experienced Westport medical malpractice attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have against the physician and/or medical facility.

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