Study: Ibuprofen Better Than Morphine For Kids After Minor Surgery

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(CBSMiami) – A new Canadian study recommends giving children ibuprofen for pain when they have minor orthopedic surgery.   Researchers say ibuprofen has fewer adverse effects like vomiting and dizziness than oral morphine.

The study looked at 154 children age 5 to 17 who underwent minor outpatient orthopedic surgery, including keyhole surgery on ligaments, joints and tendon repair, suture or hardware removal, at London Health Sciences Center in Ontario, Canada.

More than 80 percent of the children in the study required pain relief in the first 24 hours after discharge, and researchers found that the kids taking oral morphine suffered more drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and constipation.

While a benefit of ibuprofen over morphine was found in the study, the researchers say that neither treatment completely relieved pain and research is needed for more effective methods of pain relief.