• Holly Brodzinski and Srikant Iyer.
• From the Division of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2013 Oct 1;29(10):1098-101.

ObjectivesProcedures are common in pediatric emergency departments and frequently cause distress from pain and/or anxiety. The objective of this study was to describe the incidence, types, and magnitude of long-term behavior changes after procedures in the emergency setting.MethodsThis is a descriptive pilot study to determine if children display negative behavioral changes after a minor emergency department procedure (abscess drainage or laceration repair). Behavior change was measured at 1 week by telephone follow-up using the 27-item Post Hospitalization Behavior Questionnaire, a well-validated instrument that measures behavior changes across 6 categories: general anxiety, separation anxiety, anxiety about sleep, eating disturbances, aggression toward authority, and apathy/withdrawal. Significant behavior change was defined as 5 or more negative behavior changes on the 27-item questionnaire.ResultsTwenty percent of children who underwent abscess drainage (n = 30) and 20% who underwent laceration repair (n = 30) displayed significant negative behavior change at 1 week. Children who displayed significant negative behavior change tended to be younger (3.6 vs 5.9 years) and trended toward being more likely to have received anxiolysis or sedation (16.7% vs 8.3%). Separation anxiety, sleep difficulties, and aggression toward authority were the most common behavior changes.ConclusionsIn this pilot study, a significant percentage of children undergoing common emergency procedures exhibited an appreciable burden of negative behavior change at 1 week; these results demonstrate the need for further rigorous investigation of predictors of these changes and interventions, which can ameliorate these changes.

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