Audit of perioperative pain management in paediatric patients following tonsillectomy at a tertiary hospital in Johannesburg

Abstract

Adenotonsillectomy remains one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in children. It presents risks and challenges for both surgeon and anaesthetist.1-3 Despite improvements in anaesthetic and surgical technique, poor pain control, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and emergence delirium continue to be common complications. In fact, severe pain is reported in as many as 25–50% of children presenting for adenotonsillectomy.4 Acute pain is defined as a “normal, predicted, unpleasant sensory and emotional response to an adverse chemical, thermal or mechanical stimulus”.5,6 This definition recognises both the physiological and affective nature of the pain.