Pediatric Emergency Medicine Reports – March 1, 2017
March 1, 2017
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Pediatric Pain Management in the Emergency Department
Pain management in the pediatric population has long been a focus of healthcare providers; nevertheless, gaps in providing adequate and timely pain management remain an area of concern in EDs. This article will provide guidance for the recognition and successful management of pediatric pain in the ED setting. The authors first present definitions of pain and discuss the assessment of pain in a child, as well as common barriers to appropriate pediatric pain management in the ED. Then, the article will focus on the different aspects of pain and techniques of managing discomfort, including: anxiolysis, non-pharmacological strategies, topical medications, oral analgesics, parenteral medications, discharge medications, and misconceptions and facts about opioid analgesics. Pain control in conjunction with procedural sedation is beyond the scope of this article.