From 2013 to 2017, the rate of receiving a take-home opioid prescription remained stable after pediatric outpatient surgery as did the dose prescribed, but the maximum take-home dose declined.
Researchers reported full results of the 5-year GAS trial, the first randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of general anesthesia in infancy on neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Opioids may be overprescribed to children after orthopedic surgery for supracondylar humerus fractures.
The effectiveness of only 10 of 43 available pain measurement instruments specific to neonates has been examined in studies deemed of poor to fair quality.
Ingesting nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) at a higher potency level may cause nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, diarrhea, tinnitus, headache, and even gastrointestinal bleeding; pediatric patients are also at greater risk of developing NSAID-associated renal injury.
For adolescents with chronic pain, wait times to evaluation at an interdisciplinary pain clinic after referral were long and were associated with anxious anticipation and frustration from families.
Psychological therapies may be effective in improving pain and disability in children and adolescents with chronic pain, including headache and mixed chronic pain conditions, although some of these effects did not persist at follow-up.
In-hospital postnatal education about infant pain management at vaccinations leads to more frequent use of pain relief interventions.
Evidence supporting the use of the 11-point numeric rating scale, the Faces Pain Scale Revise, and the Color Analogue Scale for the self-assessment of acute pain in children aged 3 to 18 is strong.
Multiple exposures to anesthesia before the age of 3 years may have neuropsychological impacts, though intelligence does not appear to be affected.
