Pain in young children attending an accident and emergency department.
OBJECTIVE
To assess pain in young children presenting to an accident and emergency (A&E) department. To evaluate the use of the toddler-preschooler postoperative pain scale (TPPPS) and the use of analgesia in these children.


METHODS
100 children aged 1-5 years presenting to an A&E department were assessed for pain. Pain assessments were carried out using a modified form of the TPPPS; a visual analogue scale by parents and a numerical scale by nursing staff.


RESULTS
The majority of children were assessed as having pain: 60 by the TPPPS, 58 by the nurses and 63 by parents. Only 30 children, however, received analgesia. Children with the highest pain scores as assessed by nursing staff or using the TPPPS all received analgesia.


CONCLUSIONS
The pain scale appears suitable for use in young children in A&E departments. The subsequent management of pain in young children could be improved.
Academic Division of Child Health, University of Nottingham, Derbyshire Children's Hospital Derby.
C
C
McCarthy
S
S
Hewitt
I
I
Choonara
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain