• Samina Ali, Andrea L Chambers, David W Johnson, William R Craig, Amanda S Newton, Ben Vandermeer, and Sarah J Curtis.
• Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton; ; Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Edmonton;
• Paed Child Healt Can. 2014 Apr 1;19(4):190-4.

BackgroundMany children requiring acute care receive suboptimal analgesia.ObjectivesTo describe paediatric pain management practices and policies in emergency departments (EDs) in Alberta.MethodsA descriptive survey was distributed to each of the EDs in Alberta.ResultsA response rate of 67% (72 of 108) was obtained. Seventy-one percent (42 of 59) of EDs reported the use of a pain tool, 29.3% (17 of 58) reported mandatory pain documentation and 16.7% (10 of 60) had nurse-initiated pain protocols. Topical anesthetics were reported to be used for intravenous line insertion by 70.4% of respondents (38 of 54) and for lumbar puncture (LP) by 30.8% (12 of 39). According to respondents, infiltrated anesthetic was used for LP by 69.2% (27 of 39) of respondents, and oral sucrose was used infrequently for urinary catheterization (one of 46 [2.2%]), intravenous line insertion (zero of 54 [0%]) and LP (one of 39 [2.6%]).ConclusionsFew Alberta EDs use policies and protocols to manage paediatric pain. Noninvasive methods to limit procedural pain are underutilized. Canadian paediatricians must advocate for improved analgesia to narrow this knowledge-to-practice gap.

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