OBJECTIVES: To examine the volume, topics, and reporting trends in the published literature of randomized clinical trials for pharmacologic pain management of pediatric tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy and to identify areas requiring further research. DATA SOURCES: PubMed (National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health), Scopus (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCO), and Cochrane Library (Wiley). METHODS: A systematic search of four databases was conducted.