Is caregiver refusal of analgesics a barrier to pediatric emergency pain management? A cross-sectional study in two Canadian centres

Abstract

CLINICIAN’S CAPSULEWhat is known about the topic?Children’s pain in the emergency department (ED) continues to be under-recognized and sub-optimally managed.What did this study ask?We sought to evaluate the frequency of caregiver/child acceptance of analgesia offered in the ED.What did this study find?Of the 743 children who presented to the ED with a painful condition, 408 (54.9%) were offered analgesia. If offered in the ED, analgesia was accepted by 91% (373/408) of the caregivers/children.Why does this study matter to clinicians?This study suggests that caregiver/child refusal of analgesia is a not a major barrier to optimal pain management and highlights the importance of ED personnel in encouraging adequate analgesia.