Objective: Although adenoidectomy is generally accepted as a safe procedure, intraoperative hemorrhage is still the most common and potentially life-threating complication, especially in pediatric patients. We evaluated the clinical effect of intraoperative hydrogen peroxide irrigation with respect to hemostasis and operation times in pediatric adenoidectomy.
Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind study to investigate hydrogen peroxide solution in hemostasis in pediatric patients undergoing adenoidectomy. The patient, the surgeon, and the study nurse were blinded to the surgical technique used.
Results: One hundred seventeen (56 males and 61 females) consecutive pediatric patients with a mean age of 5.46±1.19 years were included in the study. There were 58 patients in the hydrogen peroxide group (median age: 6 years, mean age: 5.62±1.28 years) and 59 patients in the control group (median age: 5 years, mean age: 5.31±1.07 years). No significant difference was observed between the two groups with respect to age (p=0.151), gender (p=0.646), or adenoid size (p=0.767). On the other hand, the difference between the groups with respect to operation and hemostasis times was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001 for both). The average operation times were 8.67±0.48 min in the hydrogen peroxide group and 12.30±0.69 min in the control group. The average hemostasis times were 3.67±0.27 min in the hydrogen peroxide group and 5.73±0.31 min in the control group.
Conclusion: Hydrogen peroxide solution can be effectively used in adenoidectomy for reducing intraoperative blood loss and for economic benefits.
Keywords: Adenoidectomy; hemorrhage; hemostasis; hydrogen peroxide; operative time.