Pain in cognitively impaired, non-communicating children

Aim-To detail the everyday occurrence of pain in non-communicating children with cognitive impairment. Methods-Thirty four parents of cognitively impaired verbally non-communicating children completed pain diaries over a two week period. Each day, for five defined periods, parents rated whether their child had been in pain, and if so, its severity and duration. Results-Twenty five (73.5%) children experienced pain on at least one day, with moderate or severe levels of pain being experienced by 23 (67.6%). Four children (11.7%) experienced moderate or severe pain lasting longer than 30 minutes on five or more days. No child was receiving active pain management. Conclusions-Everyday pain in children with severe cognitive impairment is common, yet is rarely actively treated.