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Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery
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Definition and Assessment of Paediatric Breakthrough Pain: A Qualitative Interview Study

Eleanor Dawson1, Katie Greenfield1, Bernie Carter2

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield SO17 1BJ, UK.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 27, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Breakthrough pain in children with life-limiting conditions is inconsistently assessed, leading to underdiagnosis and undertreatment. A validated assessment tool is needed to improve care and quality of life for these young patients.

Area of Science:

  • Palliative Care
  • Pain Management
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Breakthrough pain is common in children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
  • Current assessment methods for breakthrough pain in pediatric palliative care are not standardized, leading to underdiagnosis and undertreatment.
  • This under-management negatively impacts children's quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore healthcare professionals' definitions and assessment practices of breakthrough pain in pediatric palliative care.
  • To understand healthcare professionals' attitudes towards a validated breakthrough pain assessment tool for children.
  • To identify essential features for developing a standardized pediatric breakthrough pain assessment.

Main Methods:

  • A descriptive qualitative interview study was conducted.
  • Semi-structured interviews were performed with 29 healthcare professionals in UK pediatric palliative care.
  • Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data.

Main Results:

  • Five key themes emerged: the elusive nature of breakthrough pain, current assessment practices, positive attitudes towards a validated tool, reservations about its implementation, and desired features.
  • Healthcare professionals' definitions and assessment of breakthrough pain in pediatric palliative care are inconsistent.
  • There is a significant need for a validated assessment questionnaire.

Conclusions:

  • The inconsistent assessment of breakthrough pain in pediatric palliative care highlights a critical gap in care.
  • A validated assessment tool is essential to improve the diagnosis and management of breakthrough pain in children.
  • Increased education for healthcare professionals on breakthrough pain assessment is recommended to enhance patient outcomes.

Keywords:
breakthrough paindelivery of healthcareinterviewpain measurementpalliative carepediatrics

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