Below is a release on a study appearing in the October issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

For Release: Monday, September 7, 2009, 12:01 am (ET)

CHILDREN MAY NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH PAIN MEDICATION AFTER SURGERY

The study, “Pediatric Pain After Ambulatory Surgery: Where’s the Medication?” found that while parents acknowledge their children’s post-operative pain, many do not provide adequate pain relief. The study of 261 children 2 to 12 years of age who underwent a routine tonsillectomy found that 86 percent of parents rated their children as experiencing significant pain. However, 24 percent of those children received zero or one dose of pain medication throughout the day. Parents do not provide ongoing post-operative pain relief for their children for a variety of reasons, including a fear of medication dependence, a lack of knowledge about how children exhibit pain, and belief that pain medication should be used only as a last resort. The authors suggest that providing parents with better education about round-the-clock management of pain and a better understanding as to how children express that they’re in pain could help increase the amount of post-operative medication children receive at home.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.