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Chronic Pain Management: Organization, Techniques and Guidelines

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Abstract

Chronic pain is a significant problem in the pediatric population. It is estimated that it affects 15% to 20% of children at some point in their life. Abdominal pain, recurrent chest pain, complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS), musculoskeletal pain and diffuse widespread pain are just a few examples of chronic pain in children. Chronic pain is defined as pain persisting beyond a period of time in which an initial injury would be expected to heal, usually but not necessarily 3 to 6 months. A good example is severe pain occurring a few weeks after a fracture. This could be CRPS type I (previously known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, or RSD) where the fracture is clinically healed but the patient suffers from intense burning pain in the limb. Chronic pain sometimes occurs in the absence of an identifiable injury or causal event as is the case in myofascial pain and fibromyalgia [1]. Chronic pain can also occur during life-long diseases such as sickle cell anemia, diabetes or juvenile arthritis, to name but a few.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Acute and Chronic Pain Service (Pediatric), Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, Canada

    Joëlle Desparmet

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  1. Joëlle Desparmet
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Pediatric Anesthesia and Intensive Care Section, Catania University Hospital, Catania, Italy

    Marinella Astuto MD

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Italia

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Desparmet, J. (2009). Chronic Pain Management: Organization, Techniques and Guidelines. In: Astuto, M. (eds) Basics. Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain in Neonates and Children. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0655-3_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0655-3_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-0654-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-0655-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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