Postoperative Chronic Pain in Children Aged 8 to 17

Children aged 8 to 17 years who have undergone surgery at Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine and voluntarily agree to participate in the study for a duration of six months will be included. Children with speech or communication disorders, those who experience postoperative complications, those with psychiatric or neurological conditions, or those with a history of chronic or long-term pain will be excluded from the study. The participants and their families will be informed about the purpose of the study, the procedures to be followed, the duration of the study, and any potential risks. Written informed consent will be obtained from the parents of all participants. In addition, participants will be asked to complete the informed consent form. Each participant will be asked to allocate approximately 15 minutes to complete the questionnaires and assessment tools used in the study. Data such as age, gender, weight, height, ASA score, medical and surgical history, type of surgery, incision size, surgical site, duration of surgery, type of anesthesia and analgesia used, medication doses, intraoperative anesthesia records, length of hospital stay, and any surgical complications will be recorded. To assess pain intensity, the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) will be used, and to evaluate quality of life, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL), which has a validated Turkish version, will be utilized. These assessment tools will be administered at the following time points: preoperative period, at discharge, and on postoperative day 7, as well as at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery.