Pain management in burn patients

Abstract

A burn is a profoundly traumatic and painful experience. The pain in burn patients is, however, oppressively difficult to treat, perhaps due to an underlying chronic pain that accompanies wound care and medical procedures. This article aims to identify the best methods to guide clinical practice through a review of the past 5 years of development in burn pain management. The PubMed/MEDLINE electronic database was searched for clinical studies, prospective and retrospective studies, case reports and review articles pertinent to the topic of burn pain management. In the present article, the challenges, advances and novel strategies in easing pain in burn injures with special emphasis on paediatric patients have been discussed. For better care performance, future research must continue to optimize present medication paradigms and identify novel targets in burn care to ultimately enhance the treatment results for severe burn injury patients.