The effectiveness and safety of paediatric prehospital pain management: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Clinically meaningful pain reduction with respect to severity and the adverse events of drugs used in prehospital pain management for children are areas that have not received sufficient attention. The present systematic review therefore aims to perform a comprehensive search of databases to examine the preferable drugs for prehospital pain relief in paediatric patients with acute pain, irrespective of aetiology. METHODS: The systematic review includes studies from 2000 and up to 2020 that focus on children's prehospital pain management. The study protocol is registered in PROSPERO with registration no. CRD42019126699. Pharmacological pain management using any type of analgesic drug and in all routes of administration was included. The main outcomes were (1) measurable pain reduction (effectiveness) and (2) no occurrence of any serious adverse events. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Epistemonikos and Cochrane library. Finally, the risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist and a textual narrative analysis was performed due to the heterogeneity of the results. RESULTS: The present systematic review on the effectiveness and safety of analgesic drugs in prehospital pain relief in children identified a total of eight articles. Most of the articles reviewed identified analgesic drugs such as fentanyl (intranasal/IV), morphine (IV), methoxyflurane (inhalational) and ketamine (IV/IM). The effects of fentanyl, morphine and methoxyflurane were examined and all of the included analgesic drugs were evaluated as effective. Adverse events of fentanyl, methoxyflurane and ketamine were also reported, although none of these were considered serious. CONCLUSION: The systematic review revealed that fentanyl, morphine, methoxyflurane and combination drugs are effective analgesic drugs for children in prehospital settings. No serious adverse events were reported following the administration of fentanyl, methoxyflurane and ketamine. Intranasal fentanyl and inhalational methoxyflurane seem to be the preferred drugs for children in pre-hospital settings due to their ease of administration, similar effect and safety profile when compared to other analgesic drugs. However, the level of evidence (LOE) in the included studies was only three or four, and further studies are therefore necessary.

Investigating the use of physical restraint of children in emergency departments: A Scandinavian survey.

AIM: The aim of the study is to describe the current frequency of physical restraint and the use of analgesics and sedatives for treating pediatric pain in emergency departments (EDs) in Scandinavia. METHODS: We performed a nation-wide electronic survey asking nurses in the emergency departments in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden about their experience treating children in pain. RESULTS: Responses from 103 Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nurses were included (79% response rate). Physical restraint was reported used at 79% [70.0-85.9] (N = 78) of the surveyed departments (DK: 96%, NO: 67%, SE: 77%) with two participants reporting daily use of physical restraint. Paracetamol was available at all departments and used most frequently. Sedation was available at 88% [78.8-92.0] of the departments with midazolam as the most recurrent sedative (83%, [74.8-89.4]). Seventy-three percent of respondents reported a need for better treatments. Lack of education was the most frequently reported obstacle for providing both pain treatment (29%) and sedation (43%) followed by lack of guidelines. CONCLUSION: Physical restraint of children during painful procedures is used in the majority of Scandinavian emergency departments (79%). There appears to be a lack of local guidelines for both pain treatment and sedation.

Promoting Sleep in the Intensive Care Unit.

INTRODUCTION: Intensive care nurses face several challenges to facilitating sleep in their critically ill patients. With its high noise levels, hectic around-the-clock activity and constant artificial lights, the intensive care environment does not foster sleep. Intensive care unit patients have significant alterations in their sleep architecture with frequent awakenings and lighter sleep; up to 50% of this sleep also occurs during the daytime. Sleep loss increases the risk of developing delirium (especially in elderly patients) and immune system impairment, which prolongs healing. The aim of this article was to develop an evidence-based bundle of nursing care activities that promote adult intensive care patients' sleep. METHODS: A broad search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and McMaster plus using search words and Medical Subject Headings terms, such as sleep, intensive care unit, intensive care, critical care nursing, sleep promotion, music, white noise, earplugs, pain relief, absence of pain, nonpharmacological intervention, and mechanical ventilation. Eight recommendations emerged from this review: reduce noise, use earplugs and eye masks, use music, promote a natural circadian rhythm, manage pain, use quiet time, cluster nursing care activities at night, and optimize ventilator modes. CONCLUSION: Promoting sleep within this patient population needs to be a higher priority for intensive care nurses. Sleep should be a focus throughout the day and night, in order to sustain patients' natural circadian rhythms. Novel research in this field could change the strength of these recommendations and add new recommendations to the bundle.

Post-thoracotomy pain syndrome and sensory disturbances following thoracotomy at 6- and 12-month follow-ups.

BACKGROUND: Persistent pain affects a large proportion of patients after thoracotomy and is associated with sensory disturbances. The objective of this prospective study was to investigate the time course of pain and sensory disturbances over a 12-month period. METHODS: Patients scheduled for thoracotomy were recruited. Data were collected on the day before surgery, including baseline characteristics and the presence of any preoperative pain. At 6- and 12-month follow-ups, data on pain were collected using the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form, and perceived sensory disturbances around the thoracotomy scar were recorded from a self-exploration test. RESULTS: At 12 months after surgery, 97 patients had complete data including baseline and 6-and 12-month measurements. Almost half of the patients reported post-thoracotomy pain at the follow-ups. However, 20% of the patients not reporting post-thoracotomy pain at 6 months did report it at 12 months. Between 40% and 60% of patients experienced some kind of sensory disturbance at 6 months. A small decline in some kind of sensory disturbance was reported by 20%-50% of patients at 12 months. CONCLUSION: A proportion of patients experienced either resolved or delayed onset of pain. Sensory changes were strongly associated with post-thoracotomy pain syndrome, but were also present in a large proportion of patients without it.