Pediatric Pain Management: We've Come a Long Way, but We Have Much More to Do

Comprehensive analgesia is an essential component of health care for individuals suffering from pain in the context of injury, illness, or in the perioperative setting. Poorly treated pain can have both immediate and long-lasting consequences, including, but not limited to: increased suffering, pain sensitivity, morbidity and disability, a transition to chronic pain with a propensity for opioid misuse and abuse, behavior and cognition changes, and diminished quality of life (Pain Res Manag 2014;19:198-204; Hosp Pediatr 2015;5:18-26). Pain management has come a long way in the past few decades. We have seen several paradigm shifts; however, acute and chronic pain remain significant public health concerns, and pain management remains a challenge for health care professionals. Pain is often undertreated, a problem that becomes more apparent when discussing pediatric patients. Until the 1980s, surgical procedures in neonates were often performed with minimal anesthesia or analgesia, as infants and neonates...