Introduction: Pain after tonsillectomy is an unsolved problem in otorhinolaryngology, despite different therapeutic approaches. To improve the pain therapy in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the University Hospital Jena, the effect of an oral application of honey every two hours (eight times daily, 20g each) on the first five days after surgery was measured with the outcome-oriented benchmark project QUIPS (quality improvement in postoperative pain management). QUIPS uses Numerical Rating Scales (NRS) for pain measurement (0 = no pain, 10 = maximum pain).
Material/ methods: Between December 2015 and March 2017 the data of the honey group and between February and November 2013 the data of the control group were collected. 56 patients between the ages of 18 and 75 years were included in the honey group and 18 patients between the ages of 19 and 65 in the control group.
Results: The pain in activity of the control group were even greater than 4 (NRS 5.00 ± 2.33 to 4.28 ± 2.54) every five days, with a renewed increase in pain intensity on fifth day. In the honey group, on the other hand, the pain in activity decreased without any further pain increase. The difference between the groups was not significant. Neither minimal nor maximal pain were significantly lower in the honey group on the first day than in the control group (p = 0.217, p = 0.980). Over the five days, the minimum and maximum pain in the honey group decreased continuously. With regard to pain-related impairments there was a clear improvement on the first day (p = 0.026) in the honey group compared with the control group in the case of night pain, as well as significantly fewer postoperative haemorrhages (p = 0.028). Comparing the honey group with the control group, patients in the control group on the first day wanted about six times opioid (odds ratio = 6.051, p = 0.011).
Conclusion: The maximum pain and pain in activity after tonsillectomy in the University Hospital Jena remain still high. By the honey therapy the opioid intake on the first day as well as the number of postoperative haemorrhages could be lowered. The check in a larger collective might be clear the effect of honey on pain after tonsillectomy.

POSTOPERATIVE PAIN AFTER TONSILLECTOMY: EFFECT OF ADJUVANT APPLICATION OF HONEY