Pain in young children attending an accident and emergency department
- PMID: 10921814
- PMCID: PMC1725403
- DOI: 10.1136/emj.17.4.265
Pain in young children attending an accident and emergency department
Abstract
Objectives: 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.
Comment in
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Pain in young children attending the accident and emergency department.Emerg Med J. 2001 Sep;18(5):412. doi: 10.1136/emj.18.5.412-a. Emerg Med J. 2001. PMID: 11559627 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
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