THE EFFICACY OF TOPICAL FERACRYLUM IN ACHIEVING HEMOSTASIS IN TONSILLECTOMY PATIENTS: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

Background: Tonsillectomy is a common ENT surgical procedure in which palatine tonsils are removed. Haemorrhage due to tonsillectomy remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality associated with the procedure. The merit of feracrylum lies in its combination of haemostatic action with antimicrobial activity without toxicity or local-irritating action.
Methodology: 94 patients of 5 years and above are randomly divided into two groups with block randomization, with each block of 8 divided into 47 in each group. Group 1 & 2 received feracrylum-soaked gauze and saline-soaked gauze in tonsillectomy, respectively. Intraoperatively, blood loss was analysed by visual estimation, and postoperative healing of tonsillar fossae was assessed by percentage of unhealed raw area.
Results: The mean blood loss in Group 1 was estimated to be 49.15 ml, while in Group 2 it was 48.06 ml. Blood loss was higher among group 1 than group 2, with a p-value of 0.939, which is statistically insignificant. On comparing the rate of healing from the day of surgery to postoperative day 30, the patients in both groups had the same rate of healing, except on postoperative day 3, where there was more unhealed raw area in group 2 patients but with no significant differences (p value of 0.057). Both the groups took the same amount of time for complete healing.
Conclusion: Feracrylum is a solution with haemostatic action, antimicrobial action, and hygroscopic action. From our study, we conclude usage of feracrylum had no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss and healing when compared to the usual method of haemostasis.