Pain in hospitalized pediatric patients: how are we doing?

Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide a baseline description of the prevalence of pain and pain management strategies in a pediatric hospital and to compare the prevalence of pain in this hospital to that in published reports in the literature.

Methods: Two hundred thirty-seven children ranging in age from 10 days to 17 years and 223 parents participated in an 8-hour survey on 5 inpatient units. Information about pain intensity and pain affect was collected from the children older than 6 years of age and from parents of those who were younger at 4 2-hour intervals.