Weight-Based Risk for Prolonged Post-Tonsillectomy Pain in Children: A Retrospective Study

Tonsillectomy, one of the most painful of pediatric surgeries, is performed in more than 0.5 million children each year in the United States. The estimated yearly number of obese or overweight (OB/OW) children who undergo tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy (T&A) approaches 200,000. Theoretically, OB/OW children could be at risk for longer episodes of uncontrolled post-tonsillectomy pain (PTP) in the Post anesthesia care unit (PACU) due to underlying genetic and physiological processes. PACU nurses provide PTP management for OB/OW children after surgery without clear guidelines to manage weight-based differences in PTP management related to OB/OW status.

Source: Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing - July 23, 2017 Category: Nursing Authors: Shirley Martin, Bryan Harris, Tim Muirheid Tags: ASPAN National Conference Abstract Source Type: research