Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41802818›Full record

ArticleBMJ open quality2026

Improved pain management after tonsil surgery in adults: a quality improvement programme.

Ann Helen Nilsen, Siri Wennberg, Marit Furre Amundsen, Martin Andre Brevik Blindheimsvik, Christian Tappert, Vegard Bugten

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open quality, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ann Helen NilsenDepartment of Medical Quality Registers, Professor Brochs gt 6, St Olav's Hospital HF, 7030 Trondheim, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-4173-4049
Siri WennbergDepartment of Medical Quality Registers, Professor Brochs gt 6, St Olav's Hospital HF, 7030 Trondheim, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-1634-584X
Marit Furre AmundsenDepartment of Medical Quality Registers, Professor Brochs gt 6, St Olav's Hospital HF, 7030 Trondheim, Norway.
Martin Andre Brevik BlindheimsvikDepartment of Medical Quality Registers, Professor Brochs gt 6, St Olav's Hospital HF, 7030 Trondheim, Norway.
Christian TappertDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St Olavs Hospital Universitetssykehuset i Trondheim, Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway.
Vegard BugtenDepartment of Medical Quality Registers, Professor Brochs gt 6, St Olav's Hospital HF, 7030 Trondheim, Norway vegard.bugten@ntnu.no.ORCID 0000-0002-4857-7648

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During 2018-2020, data from the Norwegian Tonsil Surgery Register (NTSR) showed large differences in recontact rates due to postoperative pain in the participating ear, nose and throat (ENT) units. On average, 27% (range 12-39%) of the patients had contacted the healthcare system due to problems with postoperative pain after tonsil surgery. Because of these high rates and large variations, we conducted a quality improvement project introducing a standardised pain management programme for adult patients. The goal was to reduce the pain-related recontact rate to below 15% in the participating ENT units.Five ENT units with an average recontact rate of 33.6% (range 29.0-38.1%) participated in this project. In a workshop, the units agreed on a standardised pain management programme consisting of a patient information brochure and a prescription including multimodal analgesics with paracetamol and COX-2 inhibitor (etoricoxib) with supplementary analgesic (tramadol). The units introduced the programme in their daily practice from June 2022 to July 2024. At follow-up in 2024, the recontact rate had decreased from 33.6% to 15.5% in the participating units.Introducing a standardised pain management programme, including a standard prescription of analgesics and a standard patient information brochure, seems to improve the patients' pain management after tonsil surgery. This study shows that data from the NTSR can identify areas requiring improvement, initiate improvement projects and evaluate the changes in clinical practice.

Indexed as

Pain ManagementPalatine TonsilPostoperative PainQuality ImprovementTonsillectomyAdultAnalgesicsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNorwayAnalgesicsClinical practice guidelinesPain ManagementPatient educationQuality improvementSurgery

Identifiers

PMID41802818
PMCPMC12983752

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.