The combined sEMG and pain score data indicate that the electrocautery hemostatic technique is more painful and traumatic than the sealant technique. Surface electromyography of swallowing is a simple, reliable evaluation method for postsurgical odynophagia complaints and might be used as an objective tool for pain assessment.

SummaryBackgroundSurface electromyographic (sEMG) study of post-tonsillectomy swallow-evoked muscular reactions was performed in order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxycodone and dexamethasone in pain management after tonsillectomy.Material/Methods90 randomly chosen operated adults were divided into three groups. Group 1 (n=30) was treated with OxyContin (Oxycodone) injections; Group 2 (n=30) was treated with Dexacort (Dexamethasone), and Group 3 (n=30) was a placebo group. Pain assessment included visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score and the EMG data like the timing, electric amplitude and graphic patterns of muscular activity during deglutition. We investigated masseter, infrahyoid and submental-submandibular muscles. Records from trapezius muscle were used for control. The results were compared with previously established normative database. The patients were tested 24 h after surgery. The sEMG data were compared with VAS pain score with regard to changes in clinical condition of the patients.ResultsAnalgesia with oxycodone smoothed the recorded sEMG swallow peaks and increases time of deglutition. Dexamethasone normalized muscular activity in deglutition in cases with edema as detected by the EMG records. Statistically significant difference in muscle reactions was detected between the two Groups and the placebo group.ConclusionsApplication of oxycodone significantly reduces the postoperative pain. Application of dexamethasone after tonsillectomy is advisable because of the reduction of postoperative morbidity while the reduction of the postoperative pain is secondary to the reduction of edema. SEMG might be used as an adjunctive measure of pain behavior via assessment of muscular reactions to pain and to analgesia.

The reported sEMG method and obtained data might be further used: 1) As an additional tool for comparison of different methods of tonsillectomy (eg, cold vs hot dissection, laser surgery, etc); 2) For further development of objective postsurgical pain assessment; 3) As an additional tool for assessment and development of less traumatic surgical technique; and 4) For monitoring of recovery in difficult cases.

Background: Combined surface electromyography (sEMG) and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain assessment was performed on randomly assigned adults following tonsillectomy to research the effect of fibrin sealant (Group 1, n = 25), CO₂ laser (Group 2, n = 18) and electrocoagulation (Group 3, n = 40) on postsurgical pain. Methods: Timing and amplitude of sEMG activity of masseter, infrahyoid and submandibular muscles were measured during swallowing simultaneously with VAS assessment and compared to normative database. Results: Postsurgical electric activity of masseter and infrahyoid was significantly higher in comparison with normative database. sEMG and VAS data showed that tonsillectomy ended with fibrin sealant caused less pain than laser or electrocoagulation techniques with no correlation between the VAS score and duration of swallows. Conclusion: Tonsillectomy affects muscle activity significantly by involving additional muscles (infrahyoid) in swallowing. Combined sEMG and VAS data indicated electrocautery as the most painful, laser as less painful, and fibrin sealant as the least painful technique.