Overview
Does sugar water help lessen pain of getting a shot for infants?
Kenneth Goldschneider, MD, discusses recent findings in BabyCenter News.
Cincinnati Children's Honored for Excellence in Pain Management
Cincinnati Children's has become the first pediatric medical center in the U.S. selected to receive the American Pain Society's (APS) Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Award. Read the complete news release about the award.
What Is Pain Management? | Research | Educational Programs l Disclaimer
What Is Pain Management?
Children can suffer from a variety of pain problems, and their needs are different from adults who have similar problems. For this reason, we have established the Pain Management Service for Children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. We care for children both in the acute setting (after an operation, injury or during an illness) and in the chronic setting (such as recurrent abdominal pain, RSD or cancer pain). The most effective approach to pain in children is a multidisciplinary one, taking advantage of the skills of several different practitioners. Every patient in our outpatient clinic sees a physician, a psychologist, a physical therapist and a pain nurse. Each health care worker has special training and experience in caring for children in pain, as well as helping the families.
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A Culture of managed Pain
Pain can be an unpleasant thing all by itself. But worse, it can interfere with or slow recovery from surgery or illness, prevent normal activities and create a helpless, trapped feeling. One of the hardest things about pain is that even the best treatments do not guarantee that pain will be eliminated completely. For years, medical teams have been giving less treatment for pain than they should have. Now things are starting to swing the opposite way, with patients and medical personnel wanting there to be no pain at all after surgery or with a major illness. Trying to get rid of all pain has begun to cause complications, and has taught us that over treating pain can be as bad as under treating it. That is why we are aiming for a goal of managed pain, where the pain is kept to the lowest amount that is safely possible, even if that means that there is still a little pain left over.
After surgery, in order for a person to have no pain, it would take keeping them asleep or making them so numb that they could not move a part of their body. That is not safe, and can get in the way of recovery. Our approach is to make the pain management plan fit with the overall plan for recovery from surgery or illness. When people ask us how much medicine is the right amount, we tell them that it is the amount that gives the most pain relief with the minimum of side effects. The one thing we do not want to happen, is for the pain treatment to interfere with getting better after surgery or illness. For instance, if a patient is too sleepy to take deep breaths or cough, they could get pneumonia. If they are constipated or nauseated, then they can not eat. Patients' who are too sleepy or woozy to get out of bed, are at risk for developing blood clots, bed sores, and slow bowel function. You can count on the Pain Services to work with your other doctors to create a plan for pain treatment that fits together to provide the best recovery possible.
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Research
The Pain Management Division at Cincinnati Children's maintains an active research program. Areas of interest include new medications for pain treatment in children, genetic differences in response to medications, personalized analgesia, quality improvement methodology and the outcomes of pediatric chronic pain treatment.
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Educational Programs
The Pain Management Division participates in the educational program of the Anesthesia Department of the University of Cincinnati. Senior medical students, pediatric residents and fellows are invited to spend time with us. We also welcome visiting CA-3 and CA-4 trainees for periods ranging from 1-3 months. We have been pleased to have fellows from programs at Ohio State University, Columbus Children’s Hospital and Kosair Children’s hospital spend time with us over the past several years.
Rotators spend time on both acute and chronic services and participate in a didactic program. A special five-month "mini-fellowship" in pain management is available to anesthesiologists applying for the 12-month pediatric anesthesia fellowship, who have specific interest in pain management in infants and children.
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Disclaimer
The information contained within the Pain Management Division web site pages is provided as a general guide to issues in pediatric pain and its treatment. It is not a substitute for evaluation by a trained health care worker, nor should it be used for self-diagnosis or treatment. Medical information is constantly evolving, and information provided on this page will be updated periodically. If you have any questions about these issues or anything relating to pain in children, feel free to contact us.
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