• Nathalia Jimenez, Douglass L Jackson, Chuan Zhou, Nelly C Ayala, and Beth E Ebel.
• Departments of Anesthesiology and.
• Hosp Pediatr. 2014 Jan 1; 4 (1): 23-30.

Background And ObjectivePatients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are at risk for undertreated pain. The goal of this study was to examine the association between parental language proficiency, interpreted care, and postsurgical pediatric pain management.MethodsThis was a retrospective matched cohort study among children <18 years of age. Children of LEP and English-proficient (EP) parents were matched according to age group, surgical procedure, and admission date. Mean number of daily pain assessments and mean daily pain scores were compared between language groups. We also compared the association between pain scores and type of medication given (opioid versus nonopioid). Within the LEP group, similar analyses compared pain assessment and treatment of children whose families received ≥ 2 professional interpretations per day versus those who received lower rates of interpretation.ResultsA total of 474 children (237 LEP and 237 EP) were included in the study. Children of LEP parents had fewer pain assessments (mean: 7 [95% confidence interval: 2-13] vs 9 [95% confidence interval: 4-15]; P = .012), and higher levels of pain recorded before receiving opioid analgesics, compared with children of EP parents (P = .003). Within the LEP group, children with ≥ 2 interpretations per day had lower pain scores after medication administration (P < .05) and were more likely to receive opioids at pain levels similar to those of EP families.ConclusionsChildren of LEP parents received fewer pain assessments and were less likely to receive opioid analgesics for similar levels of pain compared with children of EP parents. More frequent use of professional interpreters when assessing pain may aid in reducing the gap in pain management between LEP and EP pediatric patients.

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