Salicylates and post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage.

A prospective study of 712 patients who had tonsillectomy by guillotine or dissection suggests that salicylates used as post-tonsillectomy analgesia increase the post-operative haemorrhage rate. Paracetamol used as post-operative analgesia was shown to be related to a significantly reduced haemorrhage rate. Guillotine tonsillectomy was not shown to have any adverse effect on the haemorrhage rate.