Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach
Pain is the most common complaint reported by children who access the emergency departments, but despite its frequency and the availability of many international guidelines, it often remains underreported and undertreated. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Pain Society ha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Children |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/7/1212 |
| _version_ | 1797589834083074048 |
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| author | Lorenzo Sansone Cristina Gentile Eleonora Agata Grasso Armando Di Ludovico Saverio La Bella Francesco Chiarelli Luciana Breda |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Sansone Cristina Gentile Eleonora Agata Grasso Armando Di Ludovico Saverio La Bella Francesco Chiarelli Luciana Breda |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Sansone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pain is the most common complaint reported by children who access the emergency departments, but despite its frequency and the availability of many international guidelines, it often remains underreported and undertreated. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Pain Society have reiterated the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in order to eliminate pain in children. In all pediatric settings, an adequate assessment is the initial stage in a proper clinical approach to pain, especially in the emergency departments; therefore, an increasing number of age-related tools have been validated. A wide range of analgesic agents are currently available for pain management, and they should be tailored according to the patient’s age, the drug’s pharmacokinetics and the intensity of pain. In order to facilitate the choice of the appropriate drug, a treatment algorithm based on a ladder approach can be used. Moreover, non-pharmacological techniques should be considered to alleviate anxiety and distress in pediatric age. This review aims to offer a simple but intuitive description of the best strategies for pain relief in children, starting with the prompt recognition and quantification of pain through adequate assessment scales, and following with the identification of the most appropriate therapeutic choice among the ones available for pediatric age. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:11:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-80d50fd3d0c847f2985189591487a6df |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:11:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-80d50fd3d0c847f2985189591487a6df2023-11-18T18:49:49ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-07-01107121210.3390/children10071212Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical ApproachLorenzo Sansone0Cristina Gentile1Eleonora Agata Grasso2Armando Di Ludovico3Saverio La Bella4Francesco Chiarelli5Luciana Breda6Department of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, ItalyPain is the most common complaint reported by children who access the emergency departments, but despite its frequency and the availability of many international guidelines, it often remains underreported and undertreated. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Pain Society have reiterated the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in order to eliminate pain in children. In all pediatric settings, an adequate assessment is the initial stage in a proper clinical approach to pain, especially in the emergency departments; therefore, an increasing number of age-related tools have been validated. A wide range of analgesic agents are currently available for pain management, and they should be tailored according to the patient’s age, the drug’s pharmacokinetics and the intensity of pain. In order to facilitate the choice of the appropriate drug, a treatment algorithm based on a ladder approach can be used. Moreover, non-pharmacological techniques should be considered to alleviate anxiety and distress in pediatric age. This review aims to offer a simple but intuitive description of the best strategies for pain relief in children, starting with the prompt recognition and quantification of pain through adequate assessment scales, and following with the identification of the most appropriate therapeutic choice among the ones available for pediatric age.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/7/1212childrenpainpain managementassessment scalesanalgesic agentsnon-pharmacological techniques |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Sansone Cristina Gentile Eleonora Agata Grasso Armando Di Ludovico Saverio La Bella Francesco Chiarelli Luciana Breda Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach Children children pain pain management assessment scales analgesic agents non-pharmacological techniques |
| title | Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach |
| title_full | Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach |
| title_fullStr | Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach |
| title_short | Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Children: A Practical Approach |
| title_sort | pain evaluation and treatment in children a practical approach |
| topic | children pain pain management assessment scales analgesic agents non-pharmacological techniques |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/7/1212 |
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