Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and community
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J Child Health Care · Sep 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialParental assessment and management of children's postoperative pain: a randomized clinical trial.
As day case surgery increases, one needs to improve the management of pain in children at home. This study wished to determine whether the use of a self-report pain scale would result in children receiving more analgesia. Eighty-eight children aged four to 12 years undergoing tonsillectomy, whose parents agreed they could participate, were randomly assigned into two groups. ⋯ Seventy-two children completed the study. There was no difference in the total number of analgesics administered to children in the two groups (p = 0.26, Mann- Whitney U-test). It appears that a self-report pain scale does not improve the postoperative management of pain in children at home.