The findings suggest the current protocol for managing pain in children after surgery, in which dosing is based on the patient’s actual body weight, not BMI or whether the child is considered obese, should continue. The protocol for managing pain in obese adults varies from institution to institution but typically is not based on weight.

Researchers analyzed pain scores of 808 children, aged between 8 to 18years, who underwent non-cardiac surgery. The pain was assessed on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. They compared the pain scores of children of various weights based on body mass index. They determined that in the first 48 hours after surgery there was no correlation between BMI and pain for orthopaedic and urologic, and general surgeries.