SHORT REPORT 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. (Arch Dis Child 2001;85:460–462)