Pediatric pain management

Abstract

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience in childhood, as it is in every period of human life. The fact that pediatric patients cannot express their feelings, emotions, and thoughts accurately or adequately like adult patients makes the diagnosis and treatment of pain challenging in this patient group. It is essential to perform a detailed assessment of pain in pediatric patients. The fact that this patient group is divided into different groups (neonates, infants, children, etc.) within itself requires different assessment techniques or scoring. The observation tools used for assessment include the Revised Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (r-FLACC) tool, Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist-Postoperative Version (NCCPC-PV), Nursing Assessment of Pain Intensity (NAPI)-Newborn to 16 years of age, Pediatric Pain Profile (PPP), and Individualized Numeric Rating Scale (INRS). Using the correct assessment technique in patient groups provides significant convenience in diagnosing pain or determining its intensity. Nonpharmacological treatments (massage, hot/cold application, occupational therapy, imagery therapy, meditation, hypnosis, music therapy) and pharmacological treatments (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids), and interventional pain methods can be applied in the pain management of pediatric patients. It is possible to apply these methods alone or in combination.