Pain management in children with severe cognitive impairments

Key words: Pain, Cognitive impairment, Non Communicating Children’s Pain Checklist-Postoperative Version (NCCPC-PV)

Pain is a frequent and relevant problem in children with severe cognitive impairments, but it is often underrated and therefore undertreated. A good pain management for these patients requires the use of specific validated pain scales, in order to detect its presence and level. Also, it is important to treat the chronic conditions (such as spasticity, gastrooesofageal reflux, constipation, osteopenia) that can represent important causes of pain, and to prevent procedural pain, since these children are frequently exposed to invasive medical procedures.