Child's Pain (child + pain)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Parents and Practitioners Are Poor Judges of Young Children's Pain Severity

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 6 2002
Adam J. Singer MD
Objective: Visual analog pain scales are reliable measures in older children and adults; however, pain studies that include young children often rely on parental or practitioner assessments for measuring pain severity. The authors correlated patient, parental, and practitioner pain assessments for young children with acute pain. Methods: This was a prospective, descriptive study of a convenience sample of 63 emergency department patients aged 4-7 years, with acute pain resulting from acute illness or painful invasive procedures. A trained research assistant administered a structured pain survey containing demographic and historical features to all parents/guardians. Children assessed their pain severity using a validated ordinal scale that uses five different faces with varying degrees of frowning (severe pain) or smiling (no pain). Each face was converted to a numeric value from 0 (no pain) to 4 (severe pain). Parents and practitioners independently assessed their child's pain using a validated 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) marked "most pain" at the high end. Pairwise correlations between child, parent, and practitioner pain assessments were performed using Spearman's or Pearson's test as appropriate. The association between categorical data was assessed using ,2 tests. Results: Sixty-three children ranging in age from 4 to 7 were included. Mean age (±SD) was 5.7 (±1.1); 42% were female. Fifty-seven successfully completed the face scale. The distribution of the children's scores was 0-17%, 1-9%, 2-30%, 3-14%, and 4-30%. Mean parental and practitioner scores (±SD) on the VAS were 61 (±26) mm and 37 (±26) mm, respectively (maximal = 100 mm). Correlation between child and parent scores was 0.47 (p < 0.001). Correlation between child and practitioner scores was 0.08 (p = 0.54). Correlation between parent and practitioner scores was 0.04 (p = 0.001). Conclusions: There is poor agreement between pain ratings by children, parents, and practitioners. It is unclear which assessment best approximates the true degree of pain the child is experiencing. [source]


Prevalence and impact of oral pain in 8-year-old children in Sri Lanka

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2005
N. RATNAYAKE
Summary.,, Objective., The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and impact of oral pain in 8-year-old Sri Lankan children and their parents. Design., A cross-sectional study using a multistage cluster sampling technique was carried out in a sample of 614 children attending schools in the Education Division of Badulla, Uva province, Sri Lanka. Data were collected by means of a pre-tested questionnaire that was sent to each of the children and their parents. The children were also given an oral examination. Of the 614 questionnaires which were sent to parents, 30 were not returned and eight had to be excluded from the analysis because the respondents had answered only two questions. Therefore, the present analysis is limited to data from 576 children and their parents. Results., The lifetime prevalences of oral pain, as reported by the children and parents, were 49% and 53%, respectively. According to the children's report, 25% had experienced oral pain in the past 2 months while 31% of the parents reported that their child had experienced oral pain within the same period. Of those children who reported that they had experienced oral pain in the past 2 months, nearly 45% stated that the pain was severe. In 48%, the pain was triggered when biting. ,Presence of cavity/decayed tooth' was cited as the most common cause of oral pain (67%). Overall, 74% of children had experienced a negative impact as a result of the pain whilst 66% of the parents said that the child's pain had had an impact on them. Ethnic group, parental income and level of education, and the caries experience of the child were significantly associated with the reporting of oral pain in the past 2 months. Conclusions., The prevalence of oral pain was high among these children, and had a considerable impact on both the children and their parents. [source]


Parents should be given better information to manage their child's pain after day surgery

PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA, Issue 5 2006
Isabeau Walker FRCA
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Pain in children with cerebral palsy: a cross-sectional multicentre European study

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 3 2010
KN Parkinson
Abstract Aim:, To determine the prevalence and associations of self-reported and parent-reported pain in children with cerebral palsy (CP) of all severities. Method:, Cross-sectional design using a questionnaire; analysis using ordinal regression. Children aged 8,12 years were randomly selected from population-based registers of children with CP in eight European regions; a further region recruited 75 children from multiple sources. Outcome measures were pain in the previous week among children who could self-report and parents' perception of their child's pain in the previous 4 weeks. Results:, Data on pain were available from 490 children who could self-report and parents of 806 children (those who could and could not self-report). The estimated population prevalence of self-reported pain in the previous week was 60% (95% CI: 54,65%) and that of parent-reported pain in the previous 4 weeks was 73% (95% CI: 69,76%). In self-reporting children, older children reported more pain but pain was not significantly associated with severity of impairment. In parent reports, severity of child impairment, seizures and parental unemployment were associated with more frequent and severe pain. Conclusion:, Pain in children with CP is common. Clinicians should enquire about pain and consider appropriate physical, therapeutic or psychological management. [source]