All surgical procedures involve tissue lesions, manipulation of structures and organs, causing pain which can be minimized during the process. The objective of this study is to characterize, retrospectively, the process of managing post-operative pain based on 300 medical records of 280 childre, who underwent surgery in 2004, in 3 hospitals located in Londrina, PR, Brazil. The study revealed that only a few nurses document post-operative pain, and that the majority of the records were made by nursing aides or technicians. The results have shown the need for research on pediatric pain management and the factors affecting them.
Pain, post-operative; Child; Pediatric nursing
