Pain management interventions in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: A scoping review

Abstract

ObjectiveTo map research based pain management interventions used in the paediatric intensive care unit. MethodologyA scoping review of research literature has been conducted. Five databases were searched from their inception to end 2015 (CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global). Reference lists from the screened full text articles were reviewed. Results7046 articles were identified, 100 underwent full text screening and 27 were included in the scoping review. Seventeen (63%) were non-experimental, and 10 (37%) were experimental, of which 8 (30%) were randomised controlled trials. The majority of the articles focused on pharmacological interventions (n = 21, 78%), one on physical, and one on psychological interventions. Four studies included more than one category of interventions. The majority of the studies focused on post-operative pain management (n = 18, 67%), three (11%) on analgesia and sedation management and six (22%) on other pain management for different conditions. DiscussionMost studies included in this scoping review focused on medications and post-operative pain management and most were non clinical trials. More research, including clinical trials, is warranted to determine the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for pain management in the paediatric intensive care unit.