title: Do abused young children feel less pain?
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate whether acute pain in abused children was under recognized by doctors and nurses compared to children evaluated for accidental injuries. We hypothesize that an abused child's reaction to physical pain could be an additional symptom of this challenging diagnosis. For the observational prospective case control study in an emergency department, children were eligible when: younger than six years old, the reported trauma occurred within the previous seven days, the trauma comprised a bone injury or burn, and the child was able to express his or her pain. The case group comprised children for whom the medical team reported their abuse suspicions and supporting information to a court, and whose cases of abuse were subsequently confirmed. The control group consisted of children with a plausible cause for their injury and no obvious signs of abuse. The children were matched according to their age and type of trauma. The pain was assessed by doctors and nurses before analgesic administration using a certified pain scale. Among the 78 included children, pain was significantly less recognized in the abused children vs. the controls (relative risk=0.63; 95% CI: 0.402-0.986; p=0.04). We observed a discrepancy between the nurses' and doctors' scores for the pain assessments (Kappa coefficient=0.59, 95% CI: 0.40-0.77). Our results demonstrate that pain expression in abused children is under recognized by medical staff. They also suggest that abused children may have reduced pain expression after a traumatic event. Paying particular attention to the pain of abused children may also optimize the analgesic treatment.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France. Electronic address: mariehelene.drouineau@chu-nantes.fr.
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Drouineau
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guenego
authors.affiliation: EA4275-SPHERE "bioStatistics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Human sciEnces REsearch", University of Nantes, Faculty of Pharmacy, France.
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sebille-Rivain
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vrignaud
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balençon
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, General Hospital La Roche sur Yon, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Blanchais
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Levieux
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vabres
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Picherot
authors.affiliation: Pediatric department, University Hospital of Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Christèle Gras-le
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Guen
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010808:Physical Examination; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Acute pain; Child abuse