Pain during percutaneous pin removal in children with elbow fractures.

PURPOSE To survey caregivers with regard to the pain they perceived their children were having during the removal of the percutaneous Kirschner wires, as well as the need for analgesia. METHODS 23 male and 18 female patients aged 1 to 15 (mean, 7) years who underwent closed reduction and percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation for elbow fractures and subsequent removal of the wires were included. Before the removal procedure, caregivers of these patients were asked to select one of 4 options for the procedure: no analgesia, paracetamol, sedation, and general anaesthesia. Approximately one month following the procedure, the caregivers were interviewed via telephone to retrospectively score the pain (on a scale of 1 to 10) they perceived their children were having during the removal procedure. RESULTS The mean retrospective pain score given by these caregivers was 3.88. Of the 41 caregivers, 30 considered analgesia unnecessary, 10 opted for paracetamol, and only one opted for sedation. None considered general anaesthesia necessary. CONCLUSION For these children with elbow fractures, most caregivers considered analgesia unnecessary during the removal of percutaneous wires.