Journal of paediatrics and child health
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J Paediatr Child Health · Jun 2017
Comparative StudyRetrospective review of consecutive cases of paediatric complex pain in a New South Wales tertiary children's hospital.
Prior to July 2013, a solo medical specialist provided a pain management service 1.5-2 days/week to children and young people aged 0-19 years, and their families at John Hunter Children's Hospital, Newcastle, NSW. A new multidisciplinary children's complex pain team now continues that service. This study aimed to identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of children, young people and their families referred to a paediatric pain specialist in the 5.5 years prior to the establishment of a multidisciplinary service and to quantify anecdotal observations, determine service priorities and identify clinical improvement opportunities. ⋯ The complexities encountered in this small cohort provide an indication of the time investment needed to understand and manage complex paediatric pain, especially in the contexts of complex families, time-poor general practitioners and under-resourced communities.