Parent-Assisted Patient Controlled Analgesia for Preoperational Children withMucositis

摘要

Patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation have greater than 75% chance ofdeveloping oral mucositis; an extremely painful condition which can last up to three weeks. The most effective way to assess the degree of pain a patient is experiencing is to ask him. Many tools exist to help the nurse assess a child's pain, but their usefullness depends on the child's developmental abilities. All too often there is a discrepancy between the nurse's assessment of the patient's pain and the patient's perception of the pain. This is especially problematic for children younger than 7 years of age who are typically unable to verbally describe their pain. Parents become a valuable resource for the nurse assessing a child's pain. One of the best ways in the adult population to manage pain is by using patient controlled analgesia (PCA).