Abstract
Numerous acute pediatric pain assessment measures exist; however, pain assessment
is not consistently performed in hospitalized children. The objective of this study
was to determine the nature and frequency of acute pain assessment in Canadian pediatric
hospitals and factors influencing it. Pain assessment practices and pain intensity
scores documented during a 24-hour period were collected from 3,822 children aged
0 to 18 years hospitalized on 32 inpatient units in 8 Canadian pediatric hospitals.
Pain assessment was documented at least once within the 24 hours for 2,615/3,822 (68.4%)
children; 1,097 (28.7%) with a pain measure alone, 1,006 (26.3%) using pain narratives
alone, and 512 (13.4%) with both a measure and narrative. Twenty-eight percent of
assessments were conducted with validated measures. The mean standardized pain intensity
score was 2.6/10 (SD 2.8); however, 33% of the children had either moderate (4–6/10)
or severe (7–10/10) pain intensity recorded. Children who were older, ventilated,
or hospitalized in surgical units were more likely to have a pain assessment score
documented. Considerable variability in the nature and frequency of documented pain
assessment in Canadian pediatric hospitals was found. These inconsistent practices
and significant pain intensity in one-third of children warrant further research and
practice change.
Perspective
This article presents current pediatric pain assessment practices and data on pain
intensity in children in Canadian pediatric hospitals. These results highlight the
variability in pain assessment practices and the prevalence of significant pain in
hospitalized children, highlighting the need to effectively manage pain in this population.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 24,
2012
Received in revised form:
May 10,
2012
Received:
January 5,
2012
Footnotes
Supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (CTP-79854 and MOP-86605).
For unrelated studies, Anna Taddio has received a clinical trial grant from Gebauer; has received study drugs for clinical trials from Hawaii Medical, Ferndale Laboratories and Gebauer; and has received honoraria for workshop presentations from Wyeth. G. Allen Finley has served as a consultant on study design for J&J Research & Development (for an unrelated study).
No conflicts of interest are declared by the remaining authors of this study.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
