Pain in children

This is a book chapter on pain management in children, written for a European pain management volume. It says that the causes, assessment and treatment of pain differ at every age, from pre-term foetuses at 23 weeks gestation to adolescence. The chapter reviews advances in pain assessment, including developmentally relevant technology. It also reviews acute pain, cancer pain and chronic pain, with a focus on multidisciplinary treatments for chronic pain. It calls for more awareness of the needs of children in pain and their families, education for professionals, and investment in specialised services across Europe.

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