The effects of increased screen time on post-surgical pain and pain memory among children with sleep-disordered breathing

Adenotonsillectomy procedures can provide effective relief to children affected by sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), but the post-adenotonsillectomy pain management remains challenging, and the most effective approach to managing postoperative pain in these cases remains uncertain. The use of electronic media as a form of distraction therapy aimed at mitigating postoperative pain in children, it is unknown whether increases in screen time can effectively reduce persistent postoperative pain intensity or the incidence of negatively biased pain memories. A total of 107 SDB children undergoing adenotonsillectomy were enrolled and divided into two groups. Children in the intervention group were allowed to increase their screen time, while screen time was restricted for children in the control group. Child-reported pain intensity and negatively biased pain memories, pain-related fear were analyzed. The results indicated that no significant differences in initial postoperative pain intensity or fear were observed among groups. However, children in the intervention group did exhibit significantly reduced remembered Day 1 postoperative pain intensity (ηp² = 0.043, p = 0.035), memory of worst pain intensity (ηp² = 0.047, p = 0.027), and memory of worst pain-related fear (ηp² = 0.042, p = 0.036) as compared to controls. Subgroup analyses based on age and gender indicated that males and school-aged children presented with lower scores for negatively biased pain memories. Our study exhibited the association between screen time and post-surgical pain intensity and negatively biased pain memories, These findings suggest that increasing screen time represents an effective approach to the postoperative management of negatively biased pain memories in certain subsets of children with SDB.