Till Örebro universitet

Tonsil surgery is common surgical procedure in children and cause significant pain under postoperative recovery. The objective of this register study was to explore factors affecting pain after pediatric tonsil surgery, using patient-reported outcomes from questionnaires in the National Tonsil Surgery Registry in Sweden, 30 days after surgery. A total of 32,225 tonsil surgeries on children (aged 1-18 years) during January 2009- November 2016 were included; 13,904 tonsillectomies with or without adenoidectomy (TE±A) and 18,321 tonsillotomies with or without adenoidectomy (TT±A). In surgery cases of indication obstruction, the TT±A stopped taking painkillers and returned to normal eating habits sooner, and had less contact with health care services due to pain, compared to TE±A. After TE±A, the indication infection group had more days on analgesics and more contacts with health care services due to pain, compared to the indication obstruction group. TE±A with cold-dissection technique resulted in fewer days on painkillers compared to warm-technique, and reduced the number of contacts with health care services due to pain. Older children were affected by more days of morbidity than the younger ones, but there was no gender difference after adjustment for age, dissection technique and hemostasis technique. Implementation of national guidelines for pain treatment (2013) and patient information on the website tonsilloperation.se seems to have increased the days on analgesics after surgery. Pain after tonsil surgery depends on the surgical procedure and technique, as well as factors such as the patient’s age and surgical indication. More studies including pain interventions are needed to improve the care of tonsillectomy patients.

PURPOSE: To explore the severity and duration of postoperative pain, the management of analgesics, and postoperative recovery in children undergoing tonsil surgery.

METHOD: Participants included 299 children aged 4-17 years undergoing tonsillotomy ± adenoidectomy (TT ± A) or tonsillectomy ± adenoidectomy (TE ± A). Data were collected up to 12 days. The child rated pain on the Face Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and recovery using the Postoperative Recovery in Children (PRiC) questionnaire. Caregivers assessed their child's pain, anxiety, and nausea on a numeric analog scale and kept a log of analgesic administration.

RESULTS: High pain levels (FPS-R ≥ 4) were reported in all surgical and age groups (TT ± A age 4-11, TE ± A age 4-11, TE ± A age 12-17), but there were variations in pain intensity and duration within and between groups. The TE ± A group scored more days with moderate to very excruciating pain and lower recovery than the TT ± A group, with the worst outcomes reported by older TE ± A children. The majority of the children used paracetamol + COX-inhibitors at home, but regular administration of analgesics was lacking, particularly during late evening and at night. Few were received rescue medication (opioid or clonidine) despite severe pain. Physical symptoms and daily life activities were affected during the recovery period. There was moderate agreement between child and the caregiver's pain assessment scores.

CONCLUSION: Children reported a troublesome recovery with significant postoperative pain, particularly older children undergoing tonsillectomy. Pain treatment at home was suboptimal and lacked regular analgesic administration. Patient information needs to be improved regarding the importance of regular administration of analgesics and rescue medication.

The objective of this study was to explore children's and caregivers' experiences and management of postoperative recovery at home after tonsil surgery. The study had an explorative qualitative design with an inductive approach. Twenty children (5-12 years of age) undergoing tonsillectomy or tonsillotomy with or without adenoidectomy participated along with their caregivers in semi-structured interviews at a mean time of 28 days after surgery. The interviews were analyzed with content analysis. One main category emerged from the interviews: children and caregivers struggle to establish resilience in a challenging recovery. The families' resilience relied on their situational awareness and capacity to act, which in turn formed a basis for the ability to return to normal daily life. Children and caregivers described the recovery as an evident interruption of daily life which had an impact on the children's physical and psychological well-being. Both children and caregivers described the pain as a central concern. The families used different pharmacological and complementary strategies to manage the pain, which in some cases were complex. Some families said that the analgesics were insufficient in preventing breakthrough pain, and spoke about a lack of support as well as inadequate and contradictory information from healthcare staff. Caregivers also expressed uncertainty, ambivalence, or anxiety about the responsibility associated with their child's recovery. To optimize and support the recovery after tonsil surgery, it is crucial to obtain knowledge of children's and caregivers' perspectives of postoperative recovery at home. The results indicate that the postoperative period included several troublesome experiences for which neither the children nor the caregivers were informed or prepared. The experience of pain was significant, and often complex to manage. To increase families' resilience, the information provided by healthcare professionals needs to be broadened. Multidisciplinary teamwork is necessary to achieve this goal.

Background: Pain management in children after tonsil surgery is essential, and optimal pain treatment has been discussed for many years. Data from the National Tonsil Register in Sweden (NTRS) and a national mapping system have demonstrated the need for national pain treatment guidelines for pediatric tonsil surgery. As a result, Swedish national guidelines, together with updated patient information on the website tonsilloperation.se, were developed and implemented in 2013.

Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the professionals’ opinions of and adherence to pain treatment guidelines for pediatric tonsil surgery patients in a two-year follow-up.

Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was based on data from an inter-professional questionnaire, which was validated by an expert group using a content validity index (S-CVI 0.93). The questionnaire was sent to all Swedish ear, nose and throat (ENT) departments (n=49) that the NTRS identified as performing tonsil surgery on children younger than 18 years of age. In each clinic, we asked for responses from staff in each of the following professions: ENT physicians, anesthesia physicians, registered nurse anesthetists, and registered nurses in the ENT departments.

Results: Respondents from 48 ENT departments participated, and 139/163 (85%) completed questionnaires were returned. The guidelines were reported as being clear, ensuring patient safety and providing optimal pharmacological treatment. Treatment was given according to the guidelines: Half of the departments gave pre- or intraoperative treatment with clonidine, betamethasone and high-dose paracetamol (acetaminophen). A multimodal pain approach (paracetamol and COX inhibitors) after hospital discharge was prescribed by all departments after tonsillectomy and, more extensively, after tonsillotomy. One-third of the departments prescribed paracetamol with a higher normal dose for the first three postoperative days. Half of the departments prescribed rescue analgesics, clonidine or opioids after tonsillectomy. None of the departments prescribed codeine or tramadol, drugs that are discouraged in the guidelines. The majority of the departments used the website tonsilloperation.se to provide information to the patients and their caregivers.

Conclusion: The respondents' opinions of and the ENT departments adherence to the Swedish national guidelines were considered to be good. The national implementation process in Sweden has impacted the manner in which ENT departments treat pain after tonsil surgery.