Original ArticlePain Prevalence, Intensity, Assessment and Management in a Hospitalized Pediatric Population
Section snippets
Setting and Sample
After obtaining Institutional Review Board approval, parental informed consent, and, when applicable, patient assent/consent, we enrolled a random sample of 200 patients ranging in age from 7 days to 21 years who were admitted to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center from October 2007 to November 2008. One patient was withdrawn from the study because of incomplete data. Sampling days were determined based on the availability of the data collectors. Within a sampling day, subjects were chosen
Demographics
Patient characteristics are presented in Table 1. Mean age was 9 ± 6.2 years, and 65% of subjects (132) were ≥5 years old. One hundred twenty-four subjects (62%) were Caucasian, 59 (30%) were African-American, and 16 (8%) were another race. Approximately 90% were developmentally appropriate for age. More than 60% of patients were enrolled following an operative procedure (46% female, 54% male). The probability of being admitted for a surgical procedure as opposed to a medical complaint
Discussion
The treatment of pain has become an international priority in the medical and surgical management of children. Indeed, many professional guidelines have been advanced and regulatory agencies have set standards of care for pain assessment and treatment. In light of the advances in understanding and practice that research and these guidelines have produced, we thought it was an opportune time to reexamine the incidence and prevalence of pain and its treatment in hospitalized children. Our study
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the nursing staff of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology. They also acknowledge Cynthia Hayes for administrative support, Claire Levine for editorial review, and Dave Kozlowski for database design and technical support.
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Supported by the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation and the Richard J. Traystman endowed chair in Pediatric Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Pain Management.