Evaluation of home post-surgical analgesic treatment using endovenous elastomeric pumps in adolescent patients.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

Intravenous elastomeric pumps have been shown to be effective in managing postoperative pain in major outpatient surgeries, improving patient satisfaction and reducing the need for hospitalization. However, there is little research on their use in adolescents. This work seeks to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these pumps in adolescents.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A prospective, single-center observational study was conducted in 40 adolescents to evaluate the efficacy and satisfaction with the use of intravenous elastomeric pumps in the management of postoperative pain. Pain was measured using a visual analogic scale (VAS) and satisfaction was assessed with a survey. Data was analyzed descriptively, calculating measures of central tendency and dispersion for quantitative variables and frequencies for qualitative variables.

RESULTS

The study included 40 children (42.5% girls, 57.5% boys), showing positive results in pain control with intravenous elastomeric pumps. 85% of patients reported pain less than 5 on the VAS scale at 24hours, increasing to 94.8% at 72hours, indicating a progressive decrease in pain. Regarding satisfaction, 90% of parents and 100% of children recommended this treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study support the inclusion of intravenous elastomeric pumps in the postoperative pain management protocol in children from 11 years of age in outpatient surgical centers due to their efficacy, safety, tolerability and prompt recovery.