The development of a paediatric quality of life questionnaire to measure post-operative pain following tonsillectomy

Abstract

In this paper we describe the process through which a Paediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire was developed to assess the pain experienced by children following tonsillectomy. The impetus behind the questionnaire development was the clinical observation that the pain experienced by children undergoing tonsillectomy was not being detected and analgesia was not being prescribed in adequate amounts. The eight-item questionnaire provides the independent observer with an objective measure of the physical and emotional distress a child experiences post-tonsillectomy to which analgesic requirements can be titrated. The questionnaire was tested on a sample of 48 children aged between 2 and 13 years (average age 7.1 years) who underwent elective dissection tonsillectomy by the same surgeon using a standardised operative technique. The conclusions substantiate the hypothesis that there is the need for an assessment tool based on non-verbal behaviour to measure post-operative pain in children. In the discussion we summarise the increasing role of quality of life assessments in surgical practice.