PHARMACY UPDATE
Management of chronic pain in children
Correspondence to:
For correspondence:
Dr John M Currie
Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UK; jmcurrie@mac.com
Keywords: chronic pain; paediatrics
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
It is one of the "Rights of the Child" not to have to endure pain.1,2 In the past there was little knowledge or understanding of pain in children.3 Many of us were taught that babies do not feel pain. Minor operations such as circumcision were often performed on neonates with no analgesia. We now know this to be a cruel misconception and in fact neonates have an enhanced, more global response to pain. Sensitisation of the nervous system by trauma at such an early age can lead to different pain behaviour in later life.4 This better understanding of paediatric pain has led to a revolution in pain management for acute and perioperative pain in children. Most childrens hospitals now have a well established "pain team" who ensure that protocols are followed and that pain is adequately assessed and treated. It is from this initiative that the problem of chronic pain
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