Perioperative Analgesic Treatment in Latino and non-Latino Pediatric Patients

Purpose. Adult studies suggest pain treatment is influenced by patient's race/ ethnicity. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of the patient's race/ethnicity on pain treatment in children. Methods. Retrospective cohort study comparing perioperative analgesic administration for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) surgery in Latino and Caucasian patients younger than 18 years of age. Results. Ninety-four (94) patients were included (47 Latino, 47 Caucasian), mean age 8.44 yrs (SD 3.45), 43% female. Administration of non-opioid analgesics and intraoperative opioids was similar in both groups. Early post-operative administration of opioid analgesics was significantly different between groups. Latino subjects received 30% less opioid analgesics than Caucasians; median amount in morphine equivalents was 0.05 (0–0.14) vs. 0.07 (0–0.90) mg/kg for Latino and Caucasian patients respectively (p5.02). Conclusion. This study suggests that perioperative pain treatment in children is correlated with the patient's ethnicity. The cause of this difference is unknown and prospective studies are necessary to elucidate the reasons.