Pain Management

Authors: Sonia Malhotra, Scott Maurer,

Publish Date: 2015

Volume: , Issue:, Pages: 137-158

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Abstract

Pain is a common and often underreported and undertreated symptom in children with cancer. Recognition of pain and prompt and vigilant treatment are essential facets of high quality patient care. This chapter serves to provide an overview of the assessment and management of pain in pediatric oncology patients. The ability to assess pain in children of all ages and developmental ability as well as identify and diagnose different pain types is an imperative skill, and various assessment tools are discussed. Management of pain in children is based on the World Health Organization’s pain ladder, and a step-by-step approach to opioid management is provided along with case examples and common side effects. Since neuropathic pain is a common symptom experienced by children with cancer, a separate section with descriptions of adjuvant therapies is also provided. More recently, data are emerging in support of non-pharmacologic pain management techniques, and a brief overview is discussed. Finally, oncology-specific pain topics such as vincristine-related peripheral neuropathy, osteonecrosis and post-lumbar puncture headache are addressed.

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