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Assessment and Management of Pain in Neonates

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Abstract

Neonates are capable of experiencing pain from birth onwards. An impressive body of neuroanatomical, neurochemical and biobehavioural evidence, which has accumulated over the past 2 decades, supports this capability. This evidence mandates health professionals to attend to the prevention, elimination, or at the very least, control of pain for infants. This mandate is essential since pain is known to have both immediate and long term effects, especially if pain is untreated and is severe, prolonged or frequently experienced. Therefore, pain must be assessed frequently, not only to measure location, intensity and duration but also to determine the effectiveness of interventions implemented to control pain. An impressive array of measures for assessing acute pain in infants exists which incorporates valid pain indicators in this population. However, there is a need to develop new measures to assess chronic pain conditions and pain in infants in acute situations.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support is acknowledged from the Ontario Ministry of Health, Toronto, Canada, where Dr Stevens is a Career Scientist. She is also currently supported by research grants from Health Canada, The Medical Research Council of Canada, the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation and the Bloorview Childrens Hospital Foundation.

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  1. Faculty of Nursing and Medicine, and The Hospital for Sick Children, The University of Toronto, 50 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H4, Canada

    Bonnie J. Stevens

  2. School of Nursing & Midwifery, King’s College, and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, England

    Linda S. Franck

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  1. Bonnie J. Stevens
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Correspondence to Bonnie J. Stevens.

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Stevens, B.J., Franck, L.S. Assessment and Management of Pain in Neonates. Paediatr Drugs 3, 539–558 (2001). https://doi.org/10.2165/00128072-200103070-00004

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