Postoperative recovery evaluated with a new, tactile scale (TaS) in children undergoing ophthalmic surgery.

Abstract

Following pediatric eye surgery, visual scales for assessment of recovery are inadequate due to impairment of vision. A tactile scale (TaS) was therefore developed and tested in a pilot-trial. Fifty children, 23 girls and 27 boys undergoing different types of ophthalmic surgery used TaS to rate postoperative pain and nausea. TaS was easy to explain to children and easy to use. Ratings ranging from light discomfort to severe pain were made by 49 children, whereas one child reported no pain at any time following surgery. Analgesics were administered to 38% of the patients and the administration of analgesics was significantly (P=0.01, simple regression) related to the ratings of pain by TaS. The mean ratings of pain by TaS were significantly (P<0.05, General Linear Model followed by Dunnett's t-test) lower up to 3 h after the administration of analgesics compared to ratings before analgesics were given, indicating that ratings by TaS were related to the children's actual level of pain. Nausea and/or vomiting was common and was reported or recorded in 28 children (56%). After further validation, TaS may be a useful tool for assessment of postoperative pain and efficacy of given treatments in children and adults, not only after eye procedures, but also following other types of surgery.