Assessment of post-operative pain management in pediatrics in Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2024 G.C
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Date
2024-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Understanding the pathophysiology of pain and performing age appropriate pain
assessment tools will help create goal oriented pain treatment plans and better pain control in
children. Anticipating and effectively treating pain in pediatric patients is an essential
component of care. Inadequately treated pain will lead to multiple morbidity and increased
mortality. The goal of this study is to assess practice of pain management within the first 24
postoperative hours.
Objective: Assessment of post-operative pain management in pediatrics patients aged 1-14
years at Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2024 G.C.
Method: An institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over 4 months
utilizing a semi-structured questionnaire and age appropriate pain assessment tools. The Face,
Leg, Activity, Cry and Consolability (FLACC) scale and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were used
to measure pain intensity. Additional data was collected from respective medical chart. A total
of 160 patients were included in the study and data was cleaned, coded and entered to SPSS
version 27 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable multinomial logistic regression analysis was
done to assess factors affecting severity of pain; P< 0.05 was used to declare significant
variable.
Result: The prevalence of pain in the study was 70%. The mean pain score was 2.3. Mild,
moderate, and severe pain scores were 41.9%, 14%, and 10.6% respectively. The most
commonly prescribed medications were non narcotics. There was no use of standard pain
assessment tool. Children under 7 years pain (AOR = 0.206, 95% CI: 0.050-0.841), those
receiving narcotic analgesics (AOR = 0.094, 95% CI: 0.017-0.504) and on scheduled
prescription (AOR = 0.182, 95% CI: 0.039-0.863) had lower odds of experiencing severe pain.
Conclusion: There is high prevalence of pain in pediatric post-operative patients. In TASH,
there is poor evaluation, documentation, reassessing, and treatment of pain. The study highlights
the importance of considering age, medication type, and prescription patterns in managing post-
operative pain in the pediatric population.
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Keywords
Pediatrics, Pain, TASH, Post-Operative, Surgery.