Abstract:Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of postoperative application of somatostatin in children scheduled for abdominal surgery. Methods A total of 120 pediatric patients, who were scheduled for abdominal surgery from January 2014 to June 2016 in our hospital due to acute abdomen, were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly divided into observation group (60 cases) and control group (60 cases). After surgery, the patients in the control group accepted routine treatment, while the patients in the observation group were treated with somatostatin on the basis of routine treatment. The abdominal circumference difference, vomiting and drainage volume of gastrointestinal tube 24 h after surgery, anal exhaust time after surgery and hospitalization time were compared between the two groups. And the incidence of complications was compared between the two groups. Furthermore, the scores of the quality of life and the satisfaction of the treatment in both groups were evaluated and compared. Results The abdominal circumference difference was less, the vomiting and drainage volume of gastrointestinal tube 24 h after surgery was smaller, the anal exhaust time after surgery and the hospitalization time were significantly shorter in the observation group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in the observation group was 6.7%, which was significantly lower than that of the control group (18.3%,P <0.05). There were no statistical differences in the scores of the quality of life between the two groups before operation (P > 0.05). And 1 month after operation, the scores of the quality of life in both groups were significantly higher than those before surgery (P < 0.05). In addition, the scores of the quality of life in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The satisfaction of the treatment in the observation group was 96.7%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (81.7%), the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusions Postoperative application of somatostatin in pediatric patients can effectively promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function, improve the prognosis and the quality of life.