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Anxiety and Pain in Children Undergoing Surgery: A Scoping Review
Edlin Glane Mathias1, Mamatha Shivananda Pai1
1Manipal College of Nursing, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Karnataka, India.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pain Management
- Anxiety Research
Background:
- Perioperative anxiety and pain are common in pediatric surgical patients.
- Untreated anxiety can impede recovery and increase complication risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a scoping review examining the link between perioperative anxiety and postoperative pain in children.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature search across major databases (PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest, Cochrane).
- Included original research published in English from 2000-2021.
- Two independent reviewers screened studies based on predefined criteria.
Main Results:
- Eleven studies were included from 1,180 initially retrieved.
- A majority of studies indicated a positive correlation between higher perioperative anxiety and increased postoperative pain in children.
Conclusions:
- Perioperative anxiety significantly impacts postoperative pain in pediatric patients.
- There is a critical need for age-appropriate interventions to mitigate both anxiety and pain, thereby reducing complications.
Purpose:
Anxiety and pain are experienced by most children undergoing surgical procedures. Untreated anxiety delays postoperative recovery and also increases the risk of complications. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine the relationship between perioperative anxiety and postoperative pain among children.
Design:
A scoping review METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was done on the following databases: PubMed-MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), ProQuest, and Cochrane library to identify the original research studies published in English between January 01, 2000 to March 31, 2021. Two authors independently screened the studies based on pre-specified criteria. The results of the search are described narratively.
Findings:
A total of eleven studies were included in this review from 1,180 studies initially retrieved. Most of the studies revealed that children who had higher levels of perioperative anxiety experienced higher levels of postoperative pain.
Conclusions:
This review identified that perioperative anxiety has a significant effect on postoperative pain among children. The review results indicate the need to develop age-appropriate interventions to reduce perioperative anxiety and postoperative pain among children to reduce further postoperative complications.
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