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Pain management practices in children after surgery
1Department of Nursing, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Insights
Pediatric pain management in Iceland is inadequate, with many infants and children not receiving therapeutic doses of pain medication postoperatively. This study highlights significant deviations from recommended pain medication ranges in both prescriptions and administrations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Pain Management
- Clinical Pharmacy
Background:
- Effective postoperative pain management is crucial for pediatric recovery.
- Inadequate pain control can lead to adverse outcomes in infants and children.
- Current practices require evaluation to ensure therapeutic dosing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the current practice of prescribing and administering postoperative pain medication to pediatric patients.
- To determine if infants and children at National University Hospital in Iceland receive therapeutic doses of pain medication.
- To identify potential inadequacies in pediatric pain management protocols.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of pediatric patients.
- Analysis of pain medication prescriptions for therapeutic range adherence.
- Evaluation of administered pain medication doses for accuracy.
Main Results:
- 38% of pain medication prescriptions were within the therapeutic range.
- 41% of prescriptions were below therapeutic range, and 21% were above.
- Only 32% of administered pain medication doses were within the therapeutic range, with 22% below and 46% above.
Conclusions:
- Current pediatric pain management at the studied institution is inadequate.
- Significant discrepancies exist between prescribed and administered pain medication doses.
- Further investigation and intervention are needed to optimize pediatric postoperative pain control.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to describe the current practice of prescription and administration of pain medication postoperatively to infants and children in the National University Hospital in Iceland to determine whether these patients received therapeutic doses of pain medication. The results in this study support that pain management of infants and children is inadequate. In this retrospective chart review, 38% of the pain medication prescriptions were in therapeutic range. Forty-one percent were below, and 21% were above therapeutic range. Of the administered pain medication doses, 32% were in therapeutic range. Twenty-two percent were below, and 46% were above therapeutic range.