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Pain control in the terminally ill child at home
Insights
Effective pain management for terminally ill children with cancer is achievable. Improved assessment tools and knowledgeable healthcare teams ensure safe and effective analgesia, prioritizing the child
Area of Science:
- Pediatric oncology
- Palliative care
- Pain management
Background:
- Historically, inadequate pain control in terminally ill children with cancer stemmed from healthcare provider fears and misconceptions about analgesia.
- Advances in pain assessment for infants, young children, and older children necessitate updated approaches to pediatric pain management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of adequate pain control in seriously ill or terminally ill children with cancer.
- To emphasize the role of the healthcare team in providing knowledgeable pain assessment and monitoring.
- To underscore the goal of maintaining comfort for the child and family during end-of-life care.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing advances in pain assessment techniques for infants and young children.
- Increasing the use of pain assessment questionnaires and Visual Analog Scales (VAS) for older children.
- Implementing knowledgeable assessment and monitoring skills by the healthcare team.
Main Results:
- Improved pain assessment tools have led to necessary changes in analgesia administration for children.
- Adequate pain control for ill children is the responsibility of the entire healthcare team.
- Parenteral and oral administration of analgesia has proven safe and effective in both hospital and home settings.
Conclusions:
- The goal of therapy for dying children is to ensure comfort and provide support to both the child and their family.
- Knowledgeable pain assessment and monitoring are crucial for effective pain management in pediatric oncology.
- Providing analgesia, whether orally or parenterally, is safe and effective in achieving comfort for terminally ill children.
Abstract:
The seriously ill or terminally ill child with cancer has received inadequate pain control in the past, partly due to physicians' and nurses' fears and misconceptions regarding the administration of effective pain medications to a child. Advances in assessment techniques in the infant and young child, as well as increasing use of pain assessment questionnaires and VAS in the older child, have mandated changes in administration of analgesia to children. It is the responsibility of the health-care team of provide adequate pain control to the ill child, using knowledgeable assessment and monitoring skills. The goal of therapy for the dying child is to maintain comfort and support the child and the family. Providing analgesia in the hospital or the home has proven safe and effective when administered either orally or parenterally, and comfort of the child is achieved.