Keywords
pain management; non-pharmacological; quality improvement
Key points
- Newborn infants are capable of experiencing pain.
- Infants requiring specialist hospital care are likely to experience painful medical procedures.
- Unmanaged pain has a long-lasting impact on an infant’s behaviour and physiological status.
Also published in Infant:
VOLUME 10/ISSUE 1, JANUARY 2014
A structured, systematic approach to assess and manage ongoing pain in preterm ventilated infants in a tertiary neonatal unit was successfully implemented. In order to assess efficacy of the pain management project, a retrospective observational study analysing data pre- and post-implementation was performed. The study enabled development of practical guidance for optimising the use of morphine in this group of infants.
