PAEDIATRIC PAIN MANAGEMENT:- A LITERATURE REVIEW

Dr. Jagdish Dubal*

ABSTRACT

Good quality, effective management of pain in paediatric patients is an essential component of paediatric anesthesia. However, achieving this can be difficult for a variety of reasons that occur physiologically and psychologically throughout the range of ages encountered in the paediatric population. The main causes of acute pain in children are from procedures, surgery, trauma and acute medical illness. the aim of procedure related pain management is to minimize pain, physical discomfort and psychological distress. With regards to procedure related pain, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods need to be utilized. The choice of pain management technique will depend on the type of pain, its expected duration, developmental stage of the child, the pain management techniques available and the child's location. Multiple pharmacological therapies are available but as for adult practice, multi-modal analgesia should be used whenever possible. Local guidelines and protocols significantly aid the delivery of quality pain management and should be developed, implemented and audited to ensure optimum analgesia.

Keywords: Paediatric Pain, Etiology, Physiology, Management.