Meting en behandeling van pijn bij kinderen

Untreated pain in children has major physiological consequences. Clinicians should be able to recognise, measure, and treat pain in children effectively. This article summarises the main clinical issues from an evidence-based practice guideline on pain management in children. In children younger than 4 years of age, pain can best be assessed by a standardised observation of the child’s behaviour. Older children, however, can effectively gauge and score the severity of their own pain. Paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can usually provide effective pain control in children. Withholding pain medication from children with an acute illness so as to facilitate the monitoring of pain, is a measure that cannot be justified.