title: Postoperative pain management in children has been improved, but can be further optimized.
abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the analgesic treatment currently used in children, and to identify if problems can be related to any particular routine or group of children. Analgesics administered pre-, per- and postoperatively were recorded, and intensity of pain during rest and movement and incidence and severity of side effects were measured four times postoperatively. Fifty-nine children aged 3 to 15 years undergoing miscellaneous operations participated. All children received analgesic treatment. During the study period 26 children reported at least one episode of unacceptable pain, while unacceptable pruritus, nausea or vomiting were observed in 18 children. It was not possible to relate the incidence of pain and side effects to any particular analgesic treatment or type of surgery, but groups of children that might need additional attention were identified. Even though improvements have been obtained, it is still a challenge to optimize the postoperative pain management of children, and when doing so attention should be paid not only to pain relief, but also to side effects of the administered analgesics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Royal Danish School of Pharmacy, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kart
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van der Laan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crombach
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hole
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Henneberg
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000293:Adolescent; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009407:Nerve Block; D009985:Orthopedics; D010036:Otolaryngology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011292:Premedication; D012894:Sleep Stages; D013518:Surgery, Plastic; D014566:Urogenital System / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000779:Anesthetics, Local