2.1. Patients
A quasi-experimental study was designed with the approval of the joint
Ethical Committee of <blinded for review> and the
Medical Advisory Committee of <blinded for
review>.
We administered PPPM questionnaires to parents of patients that
investigated pain ratings, behaviour and medication use. PPPM was
utilised as it is a validated tool for assessment of pain by parents
following their child’s surgery(4). The data was collected between
February 2017-April 2020. Children 4—12 years old(n=180), admitted for
tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy were invited to participate in the
study. Children with diabetes, gastrooesophageal problems, involvement
in another study, sensitivity to any trial drug, morbid obesity,
cognitive impairment or other severe disease were excluded. Informed
consent was obtained in writing from the parents and verbally from the
children where possible.