Positioning document of the Spanish Association of Paediatrics Group for the study of paediatric pain on the Registration of Pain as fifth vital sign

Abstract

The Spanish Group for Children's Pain Study was created in 2017 in an aim to prevent, remove or reduce pain in neonates, infants, children and adolescents. Along with a diagnosis of pain, a paediatric patient may suffer from acute or chronic pain, neuropathic, nociceptive, or mixed pain, as well as pain from procedures, and post-surgical pain. Pain suffering is too often ignored and not diagnosed. As a result of this, pain prevention and pain treatment fails. Acute pain prevalence in scientific literature is estimated to be between 22% (procedures pain) and 77% (pain on patients in emergency departments and in hospital wards). Furthermore, up to 30% of children could suffer from chronic pain during their childhood. Among the barriers detected in pain management are: difficult assesment caused by a lack of unity in pain registry, difficulties due to the choice of an assessment pain scale (according to age and type of pain), and the absence of training in the management and interpretation of these pain scales. Additionally, in some health areas there is a high workload pressure and generally there are communication difficulties between professionals, and between them and families.From this AEP working group our clear positioning is expressed in the recommendation of the systematic assessment and recording of pain in all children treated in the health system, thus considering pain as the fifth constant to be determined after the other vital signs.