Presentation Information

Assessment and Management of Procedural Pain in Neonates

• Speaker: Elizabeta Zisovska , PhD
• Presentation Type:
• Duration: 60 Mins
• Credits: 1 CERP, 1 Nursing CEU, .1 Midwifery CEU, 1 Dietetic CEU

Abstract:

Pain is defined as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.” The interpretation of pain is subjective. Despite accumulating evidence that procedural pain experienced by newborns may have acute and even long-term detrimental effects on their outcome, pain control and prevention remain controversial, because the neonate's expression of pain does not fit within the definition due to the requirement for self-report. But, the neuroanatomical and neuroendocrine composition are sufficiently developed to allow transmission of painful stimuli in newborns. Therefore, concerns exist that pain is often unrecognized and undertreated. Several validated pain measures exist to assess acute pain in neonates. Behavioral and physiological indicators of pain can be used to assess and manage pain in neonates, and the most effective is prevention, limitation, or avoidance of noxious stimuli and providing analgesia, but some of the Guidelines may be vulnerable to inter-professional differences in guideline implementation.