Current practice and recent advances in pediatric pain management

BACKGROUND: Differently from the adult patients, in pediatric age it is more difficult to assess and treat efficaciously the pain and often this symptom is undertreated or not treated. In children, selection of appropriate pain assessment tools should consider age, cognitive level and the presence of eventual disability, type of pain and the situation in which it is occurring. Improved understanding of developmental neurobiology and paediatric analgesic drugs pharmacokinetics should facilitate a better management of childhood pain. AIM: The objective of this review is to discuss current practice and recent advances in pediatric pain management. METHODS: Using PubMed we conducted an extensive literature review on pediatric pain assessment and commonly used analgesic agents from January 2000 to January 2012. CONCLUSIONS: A multimodal analgesic regimen provides better pain control and functional outcome in children. Cooperation and communication between the anaesthesiologist, surgeon, and paediatrician are essential for successful anaesthesia and pain management.