• BrownSydney E SSES0000-0003-0374-0824Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan., Camila Costa, Alyssa Kelly, Sarah Oh, Gillian Waitzman, Dan Dinh, Daniel Clauw, Jennifer F Waljee, and Noelle E Carlozzi.
• Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan.
• Clin J Pain. 2025 Jan 1; 41 (1).

ObjectivesLimited data exist regarding recovery from surgery from the adolescent's perspective, or data regarding concordance between adolescent and caregiver symptom reports preventing appreciation of adolescent needs and hindering the provision of appropriate care.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with adolescents ages 12 to 17 and a parent caregiver 2 weeks following a variety of outpatient elective surgeries about recovery symptoms. We used latent manifest content analysis to analyze interview data. Caregiver-adolescent response concordance was assessed using Cohen κ.ResultsInterviews were conducted with 31 adolescent-caregiver pairs (median age: 15 y). Fifty-eight percent of adolescents and 84% of caregivers were female; 71% of adolescents were White. Twenty-three percent of children reported severe pain, some of which was not expected given the surgery. Severe pain was associated with nausea (71%, P=0.002), pain-related sleep disturbance (86%, P=0.007), and severe anxiety (43%, P=0.008). Fatigue was also common (58%), but not associated with severe pain (P=0.484) or sleep disturbance (P=0.577). Thirty-nine percent reported anxiety; 32% experienced anger/frustration. Caregiver-adolescent concordance was only substantial for severe pain (κ=0.71) and anger/frustration (κ=0.67). Caregiver reports also often included psychological symptoms not reported by their children, with qualitative evidence supporting caregiver accuracy.DiscussionAdolescents may experience significant physical symptoms, such as pain and fatigue, even after minor surgeries. Fatigue symptoms may be unrelated to pain or sleep. Caregiver report of adolescent psychological symptoms may be necessary to gain a complete understanding of those symptoms in this population.Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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