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Ed. Note: The following is a press
release from Case Western Reserve University. September 24, 2004 CLEVELAND – A
study aimed at giving health care providers a better understanding of the
multidimensional nature and effects of school-age children's post-operative
pain concludes that using imagery with analgesics reduced tonsillectomy and
adenoidectomy pain and anxiety following surgery.
Findings of the study, "Imagery
reduces children's post-operative pain," authored by Myra Martz Huth, a 2002
graduate of Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of
Nursing and co-authored by Marion Good, professor of nursing at Case, was
published in the September 2004 issue of Pain, the influential publication
of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Seventy-three children between the
ages of 7-12 participated in the study during a 53-week period, from June
1999 to July 2000. All children in the study were scheduled for an elective
tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy and were expected to be discharged the same
day of surgery. The children were randomly assigned to one of two groups – a
"treatment group" made up of those who received imagery and analgesic
treatment, and an "attention-control group," or those children who received
only pain medication and no imagery intervention.
The intervention was "To Tame the
Hurting Thing," a professionally produced videotape, audiotape and booklets
for school-age children, developed by one of the co-authors, Marion E.
Broome, dean and professor of nursing at the Indiana University School of
Nursing in Indianapolis. They included deep breathing, relaxation and
imagery techniques. The videotape was viewed before surgery and the
audiotape was used after surgery and in the home.
"This was the first study to
demonstrate a reduction in school-age children's post-operative pain and
anxiety," said Huth, an assistant vice president at the Center for
Professional Excellence at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Children in the treatment group had significantly less pain and anxiety
after surgery than the attention-control group that received only attention
and medication. Imagery did not decrease the amount of pain medication used,
either at the hospital or at home, she added. Children in this sample
reported moderate pain the day of and mild pain on the day after surgery.
"We found that health care
professionals and parents need to give adequate amounts of pain medicaton in
conjunction with non-pharmacologic interventions, like imagery," Huth said.
Huth also said it is hoped that
this intervention study will enable health care providers to better
understand the nature and effects of children's post-operative pain and that
it will assist them in providing relief for kids.
"In future studies, researchers
need to explore imagery tape interventions in children having different
surgical procedures as well as children with chronic pain," she said.
Good says that distracting the
child plays a large role in reducing their pain.
"The purpose of this study was to
examine the effects of imagery – in combination with routine pain medication
– in reducing pain and anxiety surgery," Good said.
Tonsillectomy with or without an
adenoidectomy is the most common ambulatory surgery performed on children
under 15 years of age in the United States. Analgesics are the standard of
care in post-operative pain management with children; however, children and
parents have consistently reported moderate, and in some cases, severe
post-operative pain after a tonsillectomy even after receiving pain
medication.
The study was funded by a National
Research Service Award received by the researchers from the National
Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health.
About Case Western Reserve
University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and
Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in
education, research, service, and experiential learning. Located in
Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and
Sciences, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and
Social Sciences. The Commission on Presidential Debates selected Case to
host the U.S. vice presidential debate on October 5, 2004.
http://www.case.edu/.
Contact: Laura Massie
laura.massie@case.edu
216-368-4442
Case Western Reserve
University
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