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Electrophysiological Measurements and Analysis of Nociception in Human Infants
Published on: December 20, 2011
The relation between children's pain behaviour and developmental characteristics: a cross-sectional study.
Lynn M Breau1, Carol S Camfield
1School of Nursing and Departments of Paediatrics and Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. lbreau@dal.ca
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|December 3, 2010
Summary
Pain responses in children with developmental disabilities are independent of their developmental level. The Non-communicating Children's Pain Checklist-Revised (NCCPC-R) accurately assesses pain, unaffected by a child's developmental characteristics.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pain Management
- Developmental Disabilities Research
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Assessing pain in children with developmental disabilities is challenging.
- Understanding the relationship between pain responses and developmental level is crucial for accurate assessment.
- The Non-communicating Children's Pain Checklist-Revised (NCCPC-R) is a tool used for pain assessment in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if pain responses in children with developmental disabilities vary with their developmental level.
- To investigate the independence of pain behavior from developmental characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 123 children with developmental disabilities.
- Caregiver completion of the NCCPC-R, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS-II), and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI).
- Factor analytical methods, including principal components analysis (PCA), were used to analyze data.
Main Results:
- Pain behavior was found to be distinct from developmental characteristics in analyses.
- Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed separate components for Pain Behaviour, Developmental Level, Motor Development, and Chronological Age.
- The NCCPC-R subscales, Deviation Intelligence Quotients (DIQs), and age were analyzed alongside functional measures.
Conclusions:
- Pain behavior is distinct from developmental factors in children with disabilities.
- Clinicians can confidently use the NCCPC-R for pain assessment, as it is not influenced by a child's developmental level.
- This finding supports the validity of the NCCPC-R in diverse developmental populations.
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