Children pain management

Senay EC Methadone maintenance treatment. Int J Addict 20 803—821, 1985 Senay EC, Dorus W, Goldberg F, et al Withdrawal from methadone maintenance rate of withdrawal and expectation. Arch Gen Psychiatry 34 361—367, 1977 Sharpe C, Kuschel C Outcomes of infants born to mothers receiving methadone for pain management in pregnancy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 89 F33—F36, 2004... 

Leith, P.J. and Weisman, S.J. (1997) Pharmacologic interventions for pain management in children. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin North Am 6 797-816. 

Sharpe C, Kuschel C. Outcomes of infants bom to mothers receiving methadone for pain management in pregnancy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2004 89 F33-F36. 

Pfefferbaum, B. and Hagberg, C.A. (1993) Pharmacological management of pain in children. / Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 32 235-242. 

Administration usually creates pain, anxiety and phobia, and requires professionally trained staff. Topical anaesthesia (creams, gels, patches or simply cold to numb the area) is usually performed to help to manage the pain and associated fears, as well as to distract the child. There is no taste issue with the parenteral routes but the excipients used must be biodegradable imder the available metabolic processes. This can be a problem in neonates as not all pathways have fully matured. Moreover, formulation composition is critical as some excipients can be toxic. This includes vehicles, preservatives or even the antiseptic used to disinfect the surface of the skin prior to injection (e.g. iodine-containing antiseptic that can be absorbed through the skin). 

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