Acute and Post Operative Pain Management For Children. Much of our understanding of pain in children has been extrapolated from adult studies. The authors concluded that there was marked variability in the prescribing habits of the medical staff, that doses were too small and infrequent, and the medical and nursing staff did not take full advantage of the drugs available. In fact as early as the 7th week of gestation cutaneous sensory perception appears in the perioral area. In the newborn infant pain perception can be traced from sensory receptors in the skin to the cerebral cortex.
Regional anesthesia can decrease the crying that occurs after circumcision.
Multi-disciplinary pain teams are being developed. This can result in central sensitization of dorsal horn cells. Altered central processing of nociceptive input can prolong post-operative pain. Blocking the noxious input prior to surgery as opposed to after their surgery prevents central sensitization. Thus the rationale for pre- emptive analgesia.