Structured game and parental education on postoperative pain and anxiety in children with appendicitis

BACKGROUND Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency in children. Postoperative pain and anxiety are prevalent among pediatric patients, and parents often experience significant negative emotions during the perioperative period. AIM To explore the effect of structured game intervention combined with parental empowerment education model on postoperative pain control and anxiety levels in children undergoing appendicitis surgery. METHODS Sixty children with appendicitis who underwent surgical treatment in Shijiazhuang Maternal and Child Health Hospital Department of Pediatric Surgery from February 2022 to February 2025 were prospectively selected for the study. According to the lottery method, the children were randomly divided into the control group (30 people, with standardized care) and the observation group (30 people, with structured game intervention combined with parent empowerment education). The clinical indicators, anxiety, depression, pain within 72 hours after the intervention, postoperative psychological trauma and the occurrence of complications of the two groups of children were compared. The psychological state and nursing satisfaction of the parents of the two groups of children after the intervention were also compared. RESULTS After the intervention, the intestinal peristalsis time, feeding time, getting out of bed time, frequency of pain-relieving drug use and hospital stay, modified Yale Perioperative Anxiety Scale score (27.63 ± 1.17) points, Children’s Depression Inventory score (6.42 ± 2.40) points, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scores at 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours after surgery, postoperative crying (3.33%), and irritability (6.6) of the children in the observation group. The incidences of 7%, night terrors and insomnia (3.33%), and complications (3.33%) were all significantly lower than those in the control group, P < 0.05; the Hamilton Anxiety Scale score (16.29 ± 4.17) points and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score (9.13 ± 1.74) points of the parents of the children in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the total satisfaction with nursing (96.67%) was significantly higher than that in the control group, P < 0.05. CONCLUSION The structured game intervention combined with parent empowerment education model can enhance the postoperative rehabilitation effect of children patients, alleviate their anxiety and pain conditions, reduce the incidence of postoperative psychological trauma and complications, and simultaneously improve the negative emotions of parents and increase their satisfaction.