Natasha Haynes1, John Collins1
1) Australia
Objective: Early childhood is a time of rapid development, particularly of the central nervous system, and can set a foundation for the entire life course. Complex pain in young children can impact the quality of life through limiting physical and social development, compromising psychological well-being, and sleep disruption. The aim of this review is to identify the needs of young children who present to a tertiary level pain service, what services they require and their treatment outcomes. There is very limited available data on this vulnerable population which may be due to small numbers represented and the complexities of pain assessment in this age group
Method: A retrospective review was conducted over a three year period of a paediatric pain clinic. The review recorded information on demographics, gender, pain location and aetiology, treatment and outcomes.
Conclusion: We found that all young children had an obvious physical pathology as an explanation for their pain. This finding is quite different to documented adolescent population of paediatric pain clinics. We discuss the complexity of pain assessment in complex paediatric pain, the medications and services utilised in their treatment. A diverse range of conditions, some of which are rare were identified, this necessitates a high level paediatric understanding of the disease process and an ability to work with the primary teams with expertise in disease modifying strategies. It also necessitates high level paediatric pain assessment and management.
