Pain assessment and intensity in hospitalized children in Canada

Abstract

Numerous acute pediatric pain assessment measures exist; however, pain assessment is not consistently performed in hospitalized children. The objective of this study was to determine the nature and frequency of acute pain assessment in Canadian pediatric hospitals and factors influencing it. Pain assessment practices and pain intensity scores documented during a 24-hour period were collected from 3,822 children aged 0 to 18 years hospitalized on 32 inpatient units in 8 Canadian pediatric hospitals. Pain assessment was documented at least once within the 24 hours for 2,615/3,822 (68.4%) children; 1,097 (28.7%) with a pain measure alone, 1,006 (26.3%) using pain narratives alone, and 512 (13.4..