Parental opinions regarding the route of administration of analgesic medication in children

Parents were asked about the acceptability of different routes of administr ation of analgesia for their children. Their opinions were also sought rega rding the need for consent and of the sources and quality of information pr ovided to them perioperatively. Questionnaires before and after surgery wer e administered to 150 consecutively recruited parents. The majority (58%) o f parents considered the rectal route to be the most unpleasant way of givi ng medication, compared to 19% for intramuscular and 11% and 9% for intrave nous and oral, respectively. Over 70% thought additional consent, either ve rbal or written, is not necessary for administering medication by any route . The best information was received verbally in the opinion of 90%. Contrar y to expectations, the rectal route was the most unpopular of all in this s tudy. Parents' limited knowledge and experience may be important determinin g factors. Despite their negative opinions, parents did not consider separa te consent necessary for the rectal or any other route.