PCA analgesia for children with chemotherapy-related mucositis: a double-blind randomized comparison of morphine and pethidine.

Aims: This study aimed to compare pethidine and morphine on efficacy and toxicity in children with severe mucositis following chemotherapies.
Patients and Methods: From March 2000 to November 2003, 35 hospitalized children with chemotherapy-related mucositis were randomly assigned to receive double blindly "patient-controlled analgesia" (PCA) bolus doses of morphine or pethidine. The mucositis pain score was the mean of pain measured four times a day with a Visual Analogue Scale from day 2 to 5 of PCA.
Results: Study stops before total accrual for difficulties of recruitment. Out of the 29 patients with more than one day of PCA, the median (range) of the Mean Pain Score was 44 (13-72) and 33 (3-89) in the morphine (n = 14) and pethidine (n = 15) groups, respectively (P = 0.32). PCA was stopped for failure in 10 cases (five in each group). Constipation requiring specific treatment was higher in the morphine group (43% versus 0%).
Conclusions: PCA with pethidine appears not inferior to morphine, with less constipation requiring specific treatment, but a larger study is warranted to confirm this.