Pain, nociception and the developing infant.
The study of paediatric pain and the provision of safe but reliable analgesia for all age groups has become a central issue in paediatric anaesthesia. For the practising paediatric anaesthetist, this represents a major challenge: the developing infant is not a single discrete entity but one that changes constantly with increasing maturity of individual organs. Recent developments in both basic and clinical sciences has given valuable insights into this process, giving the clinician a firm basis to provide analgesia at all ages. This review looks at some of the most interesting recent developments in this field.
Wolf
A R
AR
Department of Paediatric Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Bristol BS2 8BJ, UK.
D000698:Analgesia; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009420:Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology; D012449:Safety; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology