Postoperative Pediatric Pain Management and Care

ABSTRACT Introduction: Pain is an unpleasant experience for both adults and children. A lot of protocols, pharmacological and non-pharmacological, in order to better address pediatric pain. An important parameter, however, in the effective management of pain is its assessment, which is carried out with pain control scales based on the type of pain and the developmental level of the child. The purpose of this systematic bibliographic review was to investigate the management of pediatric postoperative pain by health professionals (mainly nurses) and parents. Methodology: A literature search was conducted in PubMed database, from 23 June 2017 to 30 September 2017 with key words, related to the management of post-operative pain in people under 18 years of age. Results: During the search, 53 papers met the search criteria, of which 6 fulfilled the eligibility criteria for the study. It was found that pediatric post-operative pain management was effective when assessed with reliable scales by the children themselves, with the collaboration of health professionals. Postoperative pain treatment required the application of the appropriate treatment regimens, depending on the cognitive factor of the pain, as well as the parallel involvement of the parents in the therapeutic intervention. Conclusions: For the optimum pediatric postoperative pain management continuous training of nurses in the new techniques of evaluation and treatment is mandatory. Good cooperation between children, parents, nurses or health professionals, is very essential.