Association Between Child Life and Opioid Administration in Pediatric Trauma Patients

Area of Science:

• Pediatric trauma care
• Pain management in children
• Child life services

Background:

• Child life specialists (CLSs) support pediatric patients through medical challenges.
• The impact of timely CLS intervention on pain management, specifically opioid use, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between the time to CLS visit and opioid administration in pediatric trauma patients.
• To determine if early CLS intervention is associated with reduced opioid requirements.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 803 pediatric trauma patients (October 2020-October 2022).
• Patients categorized into: no CLS, CLS within 6 hours (CLS <6h), and CLS >6 hours (CLS >6h).
• Statistical analysis including descriptive statistics, linear, and multivariate regression to assess opioid use.

Main Results:

• Patients receiving CLS were younger (median 7 vs 11 years) and more often female (39% vs 31%).
• Each minute delay in CLS visit correlated with a 0.015 mg increase in total opioids.
• CLS <6h group showed significantly lower total opioid and MEQ/kg opioid use compared to CLS >6h.

Conclusions:

• Increased time to CLS intervention is associated with higher total opioid administration in pediatric trauma patients.
• Early CLS intervention (within 6 hours) is linked to reduced opioid consumption, suggesting a beneficial role in pain management.