Pediatric otolaryngology: influence of ambulatorial surgical procedures on postoperative pain

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background: </strong>In Pediatric Otolaryngology surgery associating procedures is a common finding. Each surgical act elicits different degrees of pain, with implications on recovery. The aim of this work was to evaluate the severity of children's pain after outpatient surgery, considering combinations of common Otolaryngologic procedures.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from children submitted to surgery in the Pediatric ambulatory Unit of Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto was reviewed. Children with history of previous interventions or any associated comorbidity were excluded. Postoperative pain at hospital discharge using the Universal Pain assessment tool (0-10) was assessed and compared concerning the various procedures.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 954 operated children were included. Adenoidectomy was performed in 783 patients (82.1%), tonsillectomy in 714 (74.8%), myringotomy in 432 (45.3%) and radiofrequency inferior turbinoplasty in 98 (10.3%). Patients undergoing tonsillectomy showed significantly higher pain scores (1.48±1.02 in tonsillectomy versus 0.89±0.75 in no tonsillectomy, p=0.001). Importantly, adenoid curettage, radiofrequency inferior turbinoplasty and myringotomy did not associate with increased post-operative pain (p&gt;0.05). Number of procedures within the same intervention and surgical indication (recurrent infections, obstructive sleep disordered breathing and otitis media with effusion) did not influence post-operative pain scores (p&gt;0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Performing total tonsillectomy was the most important influencer of post-operative pain in Pediatric ambulatory surgery in this cohort. Performing concomitant adenoidectomy, turbinoplasty or miringotomy do not seem to influence post-operative pain significantly. A higher number of procedures within the same intervention does not associate directly with postoperative pain scores.</p>

127 Impact of CYP2D6, CYP3A4, and CYP2C9 pharmacogenomic profile on pain relief and adverse events in Canadian children treated with oxycodone and ibuprofen

Primary Subject area Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Background Genomic variation impacts drug pharmacokinetics for commonly used children’s pain medications such as oxycodone and ibuprofen. In order to personalize and best treat children’s pain, how cytochrome enzyme polymorphisms for CYP2D6, CYP3A4, and CYP2C9 impact clinical effectiveness and safety for oxycodone and ibuprofen were studied. Objectives Primary objectives were to evaluate if allelic variations of CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 would a) alter clinical effectiveness of ibuprofen and oxycodone for pain relief, and b) impact the occurrence of adverse events. Secondary objectives were to determine the degree to which these genetic and other clinical factors influence analgesic effectiveness and safety. Design/Methods This prospective, observational cohort included children aged 4-16 years who were seen in a pediatric emergency department (between June 2010 - July 2014) with an acute fracture and used ibuprofen OR oxycodone for at-home pain management. Saliva samples were obtained prior to discharge, and daily telephone follow-up collected self-reported pain scores, medication use, adverse events, and functional limitations for 3 days. Genotyping identified allelic variants of CYP2D6, CYP3A4, and CYP2C9. Pain was measured using the Faces Pain Scale-Revised. CYP2D6 metabolic phenotypes were determined based on identified variants. Regression analyses were employed to determine relationships between clinical and genomic patient characteristics, pain relief, and adverse events. Results We included 210 children (n=140 ibuprofen, n=70 oxycodone); mean age was 11.1 (±3.5) years, 66.2% were male, and 79.5% self-identified as Caucasian. The median pain reduction in the ibuprofen group was 4 (±2.0) and 4 (±3.5) in the oxycodone group on Day 1 (p = 0.69). Adverse events were experienced by 53.2% of the ibuprofen group and 78.3% of the oxycodone group (p &lt; 0.001). CYP2D6 Intermediate Metabolizers had significantly less pain relief using oxycodone than Extensive Metabolizers (p = 0.04). CYP3A4 variants did not significantly impact pain relief or adverse events. Those with the decreased functioning CYP2C9*2 allele experienced less adverse events compared to the normal functioning allele CYP2C9*1 (p = 0.003) when using ibuprofen. Males (p = 0.035) and all children using non-pharmacological pain strategies (p = 0.02) experienced less pain relief with oxycodone. Conclusion A better understanding of pharmacogenomic variation could help personalize medication choice. Sex and non-pharmacologic pain management impact pain relief with oxycodone, warranting further study to better understand their relationship with opioid pain relief in children.

The Impact of Parental Presence on Their Children During Painful Medical Procedures: A Systematic Review

Objective Whether parental presence during their children’s painful medical procedures is advantageous with regard to children’s pain-related outcomes is questionable. Research on this topic is equivocal, and additional questions, such as whether levels of parental involvement may play a role as well, remain to be addressed. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize and critically appraise the literature on the impact of parental presence vs absence during their children’s painful medical procedures on the child’s pain-related outcomes. Methods The review protocol was registered on Prospero (ID CRD42018116614). A systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycArticles resulted in 22 eligible studies incorporating 2,157 participants. Studies were considered eligible if they included children (≤18 years old) undergoing a painful medical procedure and compared parental presence and/or involvement with parental absence during the procedure. Results The children’s pain-related outcomes included self-reported pain intensity, self-reported fear, anxiety and distress, observed pain-related behavior, and physiological parameters. Overall, evidence points in the direction of beneficial effects of parental presence vs absence with regard to children’s self-reported pain intensity and physiological parameters, whereas mixed findings were recorded for children’s self-reported fears, anxiety and distress, and observed pain-related behaviors. Conclusions To provide clear recommendations on how to involve the parent during the procedure, as well as for which type of children and parents parental presence has the best effects, further research is needed, as indicated in this review.

Effect of an Active Distraction Method for Pediatric Venipuncture Related Pain and Anxiety

Needle-associated fear and pain in children can lead to poor health consequences and lower uptake rates of medical services. Information and distraction are significant methods in reducing pain and anxiety in children. We aimed to evaluate the effects of giving information and an active distraction method for pediatric venipuncture -related pain and anxiety in 3-8 years old children. Children were randomized into three groups as the control, the informed, the informed and distracted. Fear and pain experience were found to be significantly lower in the informed and distracted group rather than the control and the informed group according to the parents/caregivers. Fear and pain experience were similarly found to be significantly lower in the informed and distracted group than the other groups according to the independent observer. Informing, preparing, coping, distracting methods should be used before, during, and after the invasive procedures to reduce children's pain and anxiety.

Virtual Reality Interventions for Needle-Related Procedural Pain, Fear and Anxiety—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Needle-related procedures are often a source of pain, anxiety and fear in young patients. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) on reducing pain, fear and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing needle-related procedures. Pain, anxiety, fear, changes in blood pressure and heart rate as well as satisfaction were evaluated as outcomes during needle-related procedures in VR compared with standard care conditions. A meta-analysis was performed, taking into account online databases. Two authors independently conducted literature searches in December 2020. The last search was conducted in March 2021 from a total of 106 records, 7 met our inclusion criteria. One study was excluded from the meta-analysis due to insufficient data. VR was applied as a distractor during venous access. Statistically significant benefits of using VR were shown in children’s pain scores, where VR significantly decreased symptoms (n = 3204 patients, MD = −2.85; 95% CI −3.57, −2.14, for the Wong–Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale and n = 2240 patients, MD = −0.19; 95% CI −0.58, 0.20, for the Faces Pain Scale—Revised). The analysis of fear, anxiety and satisfaction scores revealed no significant differences between the conditions, as the studies were too heterogeneous to be pooled. Distraction using virtual reality may be an effective intervention for reducing pain in children undergoing needle-related medical procedures. However, further research in the implementation of VR as a distractor for children and adolescents is required, due to the limited research into this field.

Effects of Pain-Reporting Education Program on Children's Pain Reports—Results From a Randomized Controlled Post-operative Pediatric Pain Trial

Objective: Accurate assessment of patients' pain is an essential part of adequate analgesic treatment. Although reporting pain is a complex task, limited-to-no instructions are provided to pediatric patients regarding this process. Our goal in this randomized parallel-group clinical trial (Clinicaltrial.gov study protocol number NCT04306679) was to evaluate if a training program designed to improve children's ability to understand and use pain scales in a post-surgical setting would affect their pain scores.Methods: Eligible children (aged 8–17), hospitalized for elective surgery and their parents were randomized into two groups. Pre-surgery the intervention group underwent a multi-media program aimed to teach and train how to report pain. The control group received standard pre-surgical instructions. Post-surgery, the children reported their pain on 4 pain scales. The primary outcome was the concordance between children's pain intensity scores reported on four pain scales, both in terms of within-child standard deviation and absolute difference.Results: Ninety-six children met inclusion criteria and completed the study. The trained subjects' pain reports had significantly (p = 0.002) lower within-subject standard deviation (0.41 ± 0.31) than the control group (0.67 ± 0.46). In line, regarding absolute difference, the concordance of children's pain reports was twice better in the trained group (mean difference of 0.43 ± 0.40) than in the control group (0.88 ± 0.70) (p &lt; 0.001).Discussion: Our results suggests that children's ability to report pain is a skill that can be improved. Future studies should test the potential clinical impacts of educational interventions aimed to improve pain assessment in children and adults.

Families and pain

The family has long been acknowledged as an important social context where children learn and receive support for experienced pain. When a child is in pain, the family is responsible for identifying pain and seeking appropriate evaluation and care. Families’ responses may inadvertently encourage or discourage the expression of pain and play a critical role in influencing children’s ability to cope with pain, both positively and negatively. Having a child in pain can pose significant personal, familial, and economic strains to parents, and parents’ health can impact pain and psychological symptoms in their offspring. Therefore, consideration of the family is critical in understanding children’s pain. This chapter describes relevant theoretical models and summarizes current major research themes regarding the role of the family in both acute and chronic pediatric pain. Two illustrative case examples and a parent perspective are provided and key areas for future research are identified.

Effective management of children’s pain and anxiety in the Emergency Department

Effective management of children’s pain and anxiety during Emergency Department (ED) visits facilitates medically necessary care and procedures, and increases patient, family, and healthcare provider satisfaction. This chapter will review and update the chapter from the first edition that described evidence-based techniques for achieving this goal. A significant focus is on nonpharmacological strategies to relieve children’s anxiety, because high levels of anxiety exacerbate sensitivity to pain and disrupt the coping mechanisms of the child and parent. In addition, advances in techniques for pain relief for specific procedures will be detailed. Aspects of procedural sedation and analgesia that are especially pertinent to the ED will also be reviewed, along with two recommended regimens for moderate and deep sedation.

Comparison of the Effects of Hugo’s Point Massage and Play on IV-Line Placement Pain in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Reduction of intravenous line placement pain is one of the most important nursing priorities in the pediatric wards. The present study was aimed at comparing the effect of Hugo’s point massage and play on the severity of IV-line placement pain in hospitalized children aged 3–6 years in the pediatric ward. 72 children were selected and assigned randomly to three groups, i.e., control, play, and Hugo point massage. In the massage group, the middle angle between the first and second bones of the palm of the opposite hand was massaged, and the playgroup encouraged bubble-making play. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) did not show a statistically significant difference between the mean IV-line placement pain in play, Hugo’s point, and control groups before interventions ( p = 0.838 ; p > 0.05 ). However, the ANOVA test revealed a significant difference between the mean IV-line placement pain in play, Hugo’s point, and control groups after the interventions ( p = 0.006 ; p < 0.05 ). The result of the post hoc Scheffe test also showed a statistically significant difference between the mean intensity of IV-line placement pain in both play therapy and Hugo’s point massage groups ( p = 0.028 ; p < 0.05 ). Moreover, this test showed that the playgroup children felt less pain than Hugo’s point and control group children. This study showed that, in comparison with Hugo’s point massage, the play was a more effective way for reducing pain caused by IV-line placement in children, and pediatric nurses can play a significant role in reducing and managing children’s pain by using it.