Published 30 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4234
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4234

Clinical Review

Pain management and sedation for children in the emergency department

¹ Emergency Department, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Ensure that children do not experience prolonged or additional pain when presenting for emergency medical care; use a composite assessment tool to assess pain at triage Aim to provide effective analgesia at the first attempt—use the appropriate drug, dose, and route; if possible choose painless modes of delivery (nasal route, flavoured syrups) Reassess pain scores frequently to ensure that analgesia is effective and allow enough time for it to work Use pharmacological and non-pharmacological modalities to manage pain Avoid the "routine" use of unnecessary painful invasive procedures Use topical, local, and regional anaesthesia along with appropriate safe procedural sedation to avoid further pain

Children commonly present for emergency care with painful conditions and injuries. Further painful, distressing, or unpleasant diagnostic and therapeutic procedures may be necessary during the visit. Emergency clinicians are expected to provide safe and effective analgesia and sedation for children, and provision of such analgesia is a . . . [Full text of this article]

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