Introduction: Lack of effective control in postoperative pain can cause sleep disturbance,
decreased fluid intake and incidence of behavioral changes, such as restlessness, irritability
and reduced activity and play. Therefore, this study was performed with the aim of determining
the effectiveness of Around-The-Clock (ATC) analgesic administration on the
quality of sleep and behavioral changes in children after surgery.
Methods: In this clinical trial, 68 children, 6 to 12 years old, admitted for tonsillectomy
with one parent, were selected and randomly divided to control and case groups. For the
case group, an intervention was performed by the Around-The-Clock (ATC) analgesic administration
training after discharge. The data collection tool was a home dairy that was
completed by parents. Data were analyzed with SPSS 16 by repeated measures, post-hoc,
independent t and chi-square tests.
Results: According to the independent t test, there were significant differences between
children of case and control groups in average sleep quality scores on the first day after
discharge (P = 0.008). According to chi-square test, except for appetite (P = 0.00), no significant
differences were shown between children of the two groups in the other behavioral
changes.
Conclusions: Training of Around-The-Clock (ATC) analgesic administration in the first
three days after ambulatory surgery, such as tonsillectomy, could prevent inappropriate behavioral
changes in children and increase the quality of their sleep and appetite.