Journal of pediatric nursing
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In the past decade, an explosion of interest in pediatric pain has resulted in the proliferation of research studies. This review examines 41 studies that focus on pharmacologic interventions in children during the last decade. Criteria for inclusion in this paper were studies that (1) tested a pharmacological intervention prospectively, (2) were conducted with children only, (3) had a sample size over 30, (4) randomly assigned participants to two or more groups, and (5) provided sufficient methodological and statistical detail for critique. Studies focused on postoperative and procedural pain, were conducted most frequently with pre-school-aged children or older, and demonstrated the efficacy of pharmacologic interventions.
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Sleep was used as an indicator of pain relief for an 8-month-old female infant with meningococcemia who experienced nociceptive input from skin wounds and multiple noxious treatment procedures during her recovery. A sleep activity record documented total hours of sleep, awake/crying, awake/content, and longest hours of sleep after nonanalgesic and analgesic interventions to mediate the infant's pain. Sleep appears to be a useful indicator of the efficacy of pain treatment for infants.
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This article discusses the care of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) families who are present during the death of a child other than their own. "Other" families witness bereavement and experience grief, and there is no literature available to evaluate and describe their needs. Many PICU families are exposed to the death of a child. Nursing interventions to ameliorate self-awareness skills, validate the significance of the event, eliminate unnecessary fears, and cultivate effective coping strategies are necessary to decrease the stress of the experience. Research is needed to specify the needs of "other" families and to improve care for everyone present during the death of a child.
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A two-round Delphi study was performed in Pediatric Nursing at a large midwestern teaching hospital. The purpose of the study was to identify research priorities for the Pediatric Research committee for future projects. The initial survey was sent to all pediatric nursing staff. ⋯ Participants were given a list of the 45 topics identified in Round 1, and asked to identify their top five priorities. Results were analyzed by unit and by Division. The identified priorities for the Division are described here.
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A telephone interview with the parents of 84 children who underwent tonsillectomy was conducted within 24 hours after discharge from an ambulatory surgery center. Parents were asked to rate the intensity of their child's pain and data were collected on the type, dose, and amount of analgesics administered, and the types of side effects the children experienced. The mean age of the children was 7 years (SD = 2.31), with an equal number of boys and girls. ⋯ Twenty-six percent of the children had one or more episodes of emesis. Our data suggest that children experience a significant amount of pain in the first 24 hours after tonsillectomy and that parents administer analgesics less frequently than the drugs are prescribed. In addition, children experience significant deleterious effects (i.e., poor oral fluid intake, sleep disturbance, behavioral changes, and emesis) associated with the undertreatment of pain, the analgesic administered, or the surgery itself.