Parental Engagement of a Prototype Electronic Diary in an Ambulatory Setting Following Adenotonsillectomy in...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Health Informatics
• Pain Management

Background:

• Adenotonsillectomy is a common outpatient procedure for children.
• Parental management of post-operative pain is crucial in the ambulatory setting.
• A pain diary can aid parents in tracking and managing their child's pain effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess parental response and compliance with a prototype electronic pain diary (e-diary) with cloud storage.
• To compare the e-diary's performance against a traditional paper diary (p-diary).
• To evaluate the usability of digital health tools for post-operative pain management in pediatric patients.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving children aged 2-12 years undergoing adenotonsillectomy.
• Parents chose between an e-diary or a p-diary for recording pain scores twice daily for two weeks.
• Data collection included response rates, diary completion rates, and method of data submission (mail vs. text).

Main Results:

• The e-diary achieved an 80% response rate, comparable to the p-diary (77% when including texted data).
• Data completeness for both e-diaries and p-diaries was similar, with no significant difference in complete or incomplete entries.
• Most parents preferred text message communication (98%) for study contact.

Conclusions:

• Smartphone-based e-diaries with cloud storage are a viable tool for real-time post-operative monitoring in pediatric patients.
• Digital health applications can effectively meet the needs of both families and healthcare providers for managing ambulatory surgical recovery.
• The study supports the integration of technology into pediatric post-operative care to improve pain management and patient follow-up.