Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The efficacy of honey for ameliorating pain after tonsillectomy: a meta-analysis

  • Review Article
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Postoperative pain and wound healing following tonsillectomy can result in dissatisfaction for the patient. However, there is no consensus on whether postoperatively administered honey effectively reduces morbidity after tonsillectomy. Therefore, a systematic review with a meta-analysis of the efficacy of honey as a treatment for postoperative pain and wound healing was performed. Two authors independently searched the database records (MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane databases) dating from inception to June 2014. Studies comparing postoperative oral administration of honey with administration of placebo where the outcomes of interest were pain and wound healing on postoperative days were included. Baseline study characteristics, study quality, numbers of patients in steroid-treated and control groups, and treatment outcomes were extracted. Sufficient data for meta-analysis were retrieved from 4 trials with a total of 264 patients. We analyzed patient-reported pain scores and quantities of administered analgesics during the first 5 postoperative days. The pain score was significantly decreased in the honey-treated patients in comparison with the placebo-treated patients on postoperative day 1 only, but the analgesic intake of the honey-treated patients on the first 5 postoperative days was significantly less than that of the placebo-treated patients. In addition, honey significantly increased tonsillectomy bed wound healing in comparison with placebo during the first 2 weeks after surgery. This meta-analysis shows that postoperative administration of honey after tonsillectomy significantly reduces pain and promotes wound healing. Further trials comparing honey with good research methodology should be conducted to confirm these results.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Letchumanan P, Rajagopalan R, Kamaruddin MY (2013) Posttonsillectomy pain relief and epithelialization with honey. Turk J Med Sci 43(5):851–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bameshki AR, Razban M, Khadivi E, Razavi M, Bakhshaee M (2013) The effect of local injection of epinephrine and bupivacaine on post-tonsillectomy pain and bleeding. Iran J Otorhinolaryngol 25(73):209–214

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Carr MM, Williams JG, Carmichael L, Nasser JG (1999) Effect of steroids on posttonsillectomy pain in adults. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 125(12):1361–1364

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Merry AF, Edwards KE, Ahmad Z, Barber C, Mahadevan M, Frampton C (2013) Randomized comparison between the combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen and each constituent alone for analgesia following tonsillectomy in children. Can J Anaesth 60(12):1180–1189. doi:10.1007/s12630-013-0043-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Miura MS, Saleh C, de Andrade M, Assmann M, Lima LH, Lubianca Neto JF (2009) Topical clindamycin in post-adenotonsillectomy analgesia in children: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 141(4):509–515. doi:10.1016/j.otohns.2009.06.082

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Mikkelsen S, Hilsted KL, Andersen PJ, Hjortso NC, Enggaard TP, Jorgensen DG, Hansen M, Henriksen J, Dahl JB (2006) The effect of gabapentin on post-operative pain following tonsillectomy in adults. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 50(7):809–815. doi:10.1111/j.1399-6576.2006.01057.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Song JJ, Twumasi-Ankrah P, Salcido R (2012) Systematic review and meta-analysis on the use of honey to protect from the effects of radiation-induced oral mucositis. Adv Skin Wound Care 25(1):23–28. doi:10.1097/01.ASW.0000410687.14363.a3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Ozlugedik S, Genc S, Unal A, Elhan AH, Tezer M, Titiz A (2006) Can postoperative pains following tonsillectomy be relieved by honey? A prospective, randomized, placebo controlled preliminary study. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 70(11):1929–1934. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2006.07.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Boroumand P, Zamani MM, Saeedi M, Rouhbakhshfar O, Hosseini Motlagh SR, Aarabi Moghaddam F (2013) Post tonsillectomy pain: can honey reduce the analgesic requirements? Anesth Pain Med 3(1):198–202. doi:10.5812/aapm.9246

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Mat Lazim N, Abdullah B, Salim R (2013) The effect of Tualang honey in enhancing post tonsillectomy healing process. An open labelled prospective clinical trial. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 77(4):457–461. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2012.11.036

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ugur KS, Karabayirli S, Demircioglu RI, Ark N, Kurtaran H, Muslu B, Sert H (2013) The comparison of preincisional peritonsillar infiltration of ketamine and tramadol for postoperative pain relief on children following adenotonsillectomy. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 77(11):1825–1829. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.08.018

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Genc E, Hanci D, Ergin NT, Dal T (2006) Can mucosal sealing reduce tonsillectomy pain? Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 70(4):725–730. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2005.12.005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Takwoingi YM, Shykhon M, Wake M (2007) Effect of post-operative analgesia duration on post-tonsillectomy readmission rate: comparison of five-day and 14-day regime. J Laryngol Otol 121(10):968–972. doi:10.1017/s002221510700597x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Celebi S, Tepe C, Yelken K, Celik O (2013) Efficacy of dexpanthenol for pediatric post-tonsillectomy pain and wound healing. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 122(7):464–467

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Burlando B, Cornara L (2013) Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review. J Cosmet Dermatol 12(4):306–313. doi:10.1111/jocd.12058

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Al-Waili N, Salom K, Al-Ghamdi AA (2011) Honey for wound healing, ulcers, and burns; data supporting its use in clinical practice. Sci World J 11:766–787. doi:10.1100/tsw.2011.78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Molan PC (2001) Potential of honey in the treatment of wounds and burns. Am J Clin Dermatol 2(1):13–19

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Acion L, Peterson JJ, Temple S, Arndt S (2006) Probabilistic index: an intuitive non-parametric approach to measuring the size of treatment effects. Stat Med 25(4):591–602. doi:10.1002/sim.2256

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Isaacson G (2012) Tonsillectomy healing. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 121(10):645–649

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Sertel S, Herrmann S, Greten HJ, Haxsen V, El-Bitar S, Simon CH, Baumann I, Plinkert PK (2009) Additional use of acupuncture to NSAID effectively reduces post-tonsillectomy pain. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 266(6):919–925. doi:10.1007/s00405-008-0851-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Abd-El Aal AM, El-Hadidy MR, El-Mashad NB, El-Sebaie AH (2007) Antimicrobial effect of bee honey in comparison to antibiotics on organisms isolated from infected burns. Ann Burns Fire Disasters 20(2):83–88

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Dhiwakar M, Eng CY, Selvaraj S, McKerrow WS (2006) Antibiotics to improve recovery following tonsillectomy: a systematic review. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 134(3):357–364. doi:10.1016/j.otohns.2005.12.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

All authors have no financial relationship concerning present study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospital, 2 Sosa-dong, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi, 420-717, Republic of Korea

    Se Hwan Hwang, Jee Nam Song, Yeon Min Jeong, Yeon Ji Lee & Jun Myung Kang

Authors
  1. Se Hwan Hwang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jee Nam Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yeon Min Jeong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yeon Ji Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jun Myung Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun Myung Kang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hwang, S.H., Song, J.N., Jeong, Y.M. et al. The efficacy of honey for ameliorating pain after tonsillectomy: a meta-analysis. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 273, 811–818 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3433-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3433-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation