A Scoping Review of Pain in Children after Traumatic Brain Injury: Is There More Than Headache?

Abstract

Headache is a common source of pain in children after traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, relatively little is known about nonheadache pain in this pediatric population. The present review seeks to map the extant literature to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and impact of nonheadache pain in children post-TBI of all severities. We found that of 109 studies published on pain in children after a TBI, 95 (87%) were focused exclusively on headache pain and only 14 (13%) reported on nonheadache pain or overall pain, with half (n = 7) in the form of case studies. Overall, the level of evidence was low, with only three level 1 high-quality prospective studies. In one study, over half (57.1%) of adolescents who experienced persistent pain post-TBI reported pain in multiple body sites (e.g., back, lower limb, and neck).1 For each additional noncephalic pain site, the risk for developing chronic migraine is also increased. Nevertheless, pain in body regions other than the head is often not assessed systematically in pediatric TBI research. Findings of the current review suggest that pain assessment in children post-TBI needs improvement, given that pain is linked to worse recovery, poorer quality of life, and can be long-lasting. More rigorous examination of nonheadache pain and its role in impeding recovery in children post-TBI is imperative and has the potential to improve the care and management of children with TBI. We conclude with recommendations for pain assessment, discuss gaps in the literature, and highlight directions for future research.