Pain Management National Pediatric Nighttime Curriculum Written by Nicole D. Marsico, MD Stanford University School of Medicine
Case 1 A 4 year old has recently returned from having an abscess drained and has a JP drain in place. The nurse is asking for pain medication. How would you assess the patient’s pain? How would you treat his pain? What if it is getting worse?
Case 2 A 10 yo female with a fractured arm is complaining of pruritus with morphine. How would you assess her pain? What changes would you make to her pain regimen?
Objectives Understand the different types of pain Know how to initiate pain medications Learn to assess pain and modify treatment strategies
Types of Pain Nociceptive Somatic Well-localized Pain receptors in soft tissue, skin, skeletal muscle, bone Visceral Vague Visceral organs Neuropathic Damaged sensory nerves
Pain Management Pediatricians often under-treat children’s pain When initiating pain medications, consider a standing regimen Avoid combination products (i.e. Vicodin) at first Constantly re-assess your pain plan Is it working? Any side effects?
Assessing Pain Infants Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) Verbal Children Scale of 1-10 (may use faces and/or numbers) Non-verbal clues
Non-pharmacologic Pain Management • Physical • Massage • Heat and cold • Acupuncture • Behavioral • Relaxation • Art and play therapy • Biofeedback • Cognitive • Distraction • Imagery and Hypnosis
Pain Medications • Acetaminophen • PO: 10-15 mg/kg every 4-6 hours • PR: Loading dose 35-50 mg/kg; Maintenance dose 20 mg/kg every 6 hours • NO MORE THAN 5 DOSES in 24 hours • Ibuprofen • PO: 5-10 mg/kg every 6-8 hours • MAX 40 mg/kg/day • Contraindicated in active GI bleeding, hypersensitivity to NSAIDs • Caution in severe asthmatics
Pain Medications • Ketorolac • NSAID • Available PO, IV, IM • Potential opioid sparing effect • Cannot be used for a long time • No more than 24-72 hours in children less than 2 years • No more than 5 days in children 2 and older
Pain Medications • OPIATE – If one doesn’t work, try another • Codeine • Weak opiate • Morphine • PO: 0.2-0.5 mg/kg every 4-6 hours • IV: 0.05-0.2 mg/kg every 2-4 hours • PCA: 0.015 mg/kg/hr basal with 0.015 mg/kg PCA dose q10 min lockout
Pain Medications • Oxycodone • 4-5 hour duration • Fentanyl • Potent (100x morphine), short duration • Transdermal patch has long onset and long acting (2-3 days) • Hydromorphone • 5x more potent than morphine • 4-6 hour duration
Take Home Points Assess pain using an age appropriate tool. Consider starting an around the clock regimen. Continually assess pain and modify medication regimen appropriately.
Take Home Points When to call the attending: Patient has persistent or worsening pain despite appropriate analgesic regimen. When to transfer to a higher level of care: Patient develops respiratory depression with opiates Control airway and ventilation Order opioid antagonist while calling for help
References Berde CB, Sethna NF. Analgesics for the treatment of pain in children. N Engl J Med. 2002; 347: 1094-1103. Ciszkowski C, Madadi P. Codeine, ultrarapid-metabolism genotype, and postoperative death. N Engl J Med. 2009; 361: 827-828. Ellis JA, O’Connor BV, Cappelli M, Goodman JT, Blouin R, Reid CW. Pain in hospitalized pediatric patients: how are we doing? Clin J Pain. 2002; 18:262-269. Howard, RF. Current status of pain management in children. JAMA. 2003; 2464-2469. Kraemer FW, Rose JB. Pharmacologic management of acute pediatric pain. Anesthesiology Clin. 2009; 27:241-268. World Health Organization. Cancer pain relief and palliative care in children. Geneva: 1998. Accessed via: http://www.stoppain.org/for_professionals/cancerbk.pdf