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Published on: December 20, 2011

Pain assessment and management in infants with cancer

Bonnie Stevens1

  • 1Faculties of Nursing and Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. b.stevens@utoronto.ca

Pediatric Blood & Cancer
|October 19, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Infants with cancer suffer significant procedural pain, often inadequately managed. Optimal pain control requires understanding infant pain, effective assessment, and combined pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Pain Management
  • Neonatal Care

Background:

  • Infants with cancer undergo numerous painful procedures during diagnosis and treatment.
  • Current pain management strategies for infants are frequently suboptimal.
  • Effective pain control is crucial for improving infant outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of procedural pain in infants with cancer.
  • To identify optimal methods for pain assessment in this population.
  • To outline effective pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions for procedural pain management.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on pediatric oncology pain management.
  • Analysis of assessment tools for infant pain.
  • Synthesis of evidence for pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.
  • Consideration of palliative care approaches.

Main Results:

  • Infant pain conceptualization and consequences require further understanding.
  • Standardized pain assessment in infants remains challenging.
  • Multimodal approaches combining pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic methods are most effective.
  • Parent-professional collaboration is key to successful pain management.

Conclusions:

  • Optimizing procedural pain management in infants with cancer necessitates a comprehensive approach.
  • Understanding infant pain, utilizing appropriate assessment tools, and implementing evidence-based interventions are critical.
  • Collaboration between healthcare professionals and parents is essential for achieving optimal pain relief and care.

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