The Efficacy of Meperidine for Pain Management in Orthopedic, Dental, and General Surgery in Children: A Review Study

Background: The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of Meperidine for pain relief in children after orthopedic, abdominal surgery, and laceration repair. Materials and Methods: A systematic serch was performed using the following online databases: Medline, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase to 2 June 2020, with keywords: (Meperidine OR Pethidine) AND (Pain) AND (Child OR Children) with no language restriction. Results: The Acetaminophen had slightly higher pain scores compared to Meperidine after dental restoration among children. There was better sedation along with more rapid onset and recovery in the combined regimens of Atropine/Midazolam/Ketamine compared to Meperidine/Midazolam. Two studies reported the superiority of Morphine over Meperidine for pain management. A study found a significant increase in the mean pediatric pain scores in the Tramadol group compared to the Meperidine group after 24 hours. There was no difference in the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) between MPC (Meperidine/Promethazine/Chlorpromazine), and OTFC (Oral Transmucosal Fentanyl Citrate) groups during the laceration repair. In the study on the incidence of sleep on the way home or shortly after arriving at home, there were differences in chloral hydrate, Meperidine, and Hydroxyzine regimen compared to Midazolam alone among children being sedated during endodontic procedures. Conclusion: Meperidine was effective for controlling pain in orthopedic, abdominal surgery, laceration repair, and dental restoration. However, it was only superior to the Tramadol group. Regarding dental surgery, a combination regimen were more effective compared to single Midazolam. The pain intensity during early recovery was slightly lower in Meperidine group. The regimen had better sedation with more rapid onset and recovery compared to Meperidine/Midazolam.