Up-date of pediatric pain management in emergency units

Key words: Paediatric pain, Pain management, Pain assessment and measurement, Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies

Pain is a frequent symptom in paediatric population, especially in the emergency setting; nevertheless pain is poorly managed in clinical practice. The present paper aims to give an up-to-date analysis concerning paediatric pain in emergency units, as regards epidemiology, assessment, measurement and treatment, through a detailed systematic revision of the literature and an on-going clinical trial assessment carried out by analysing the relevant data available until March 2018. Among the many paediatric pain scales for different ages and situations and according to their efficacy and efficiency, FLACC scale, Wong-Baker scale and FLACC-r or NCCPC-R scale are proposed. Moreover, pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies should always be considered; innovative strategies, new molecules and route of administration allow adequate therapies to be performed in many clinical situations. Emerging data suggest the need to carry out more research on pain prophylaxis, increase opioid drugs prescription in case of severe pain and reduce primary analgesia time. Therefore, an adequate management of pain in paediatric population in the emergency setting is still a goal to achieve. So, innovative organisational arrangements, training strategies addressed to health professionals, information and research are the instruments to imprint a real change in paediatric pain management in emergency units.