Comparison of the analgesic and emetic properties of ketorolac and morphine for paediatric outpatient strabismus surgery

In a prospective, double-blind, randomized study, we have comparedi.v. ketorolac and morphine in paediatric outpatients undergoingstrabismus surgery. Forty-two ASA I or II children, aged 2–12yr, were allocated randomly to receive either ketorolac 0.75mgkg^–1 i.v. or morphine 0.1 mg kg^–1i.v. and metoclopramide0.15 mg kg^–1. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol andmaintained with propofol and nitrous oxide. Pain was assessedat 15-min intervals until discharge, and the incidence of nauseaand vomiting was recorded for the first 24 h. There was no differencein pain behaviour scores or recovery times. The incidence ofnausea and vomiting during the first 24 h was 19%in the ketorolacgroup and 71%in the morphine group (P<0.001). We concludedthat ketorolac was an effective analgesic for this type of surgeryand that it was associated with less postoperative emesis thanmorphine and metoclopramide.