Who gives pain relief to children?

Objective-To compare pre-hospital parental administration of pain relief fo r children with that of the accident and emergency (A&E) department staff a nd to ascertain the reason why pre-hospital analgesia is not being given. Design/methods-An anonymous prospective questionnaire was given to parents/ guardians of children < 17 years. The children were all self referred with head injuries or limb problems including burns. The first part asked for de tails of pain relief before attendance in the A&E department. The second pa rt of the questionnaire contained a section for the examining doctor and tr iage nurse to fill in. The duration of the survey was 28 days. Results-Altogether 203 of 276 (74%) of children did not receive pain relief before attendance at the A&E department. Reasons for parents not giving pa in relief included 57/203 (28%) who thought that giving painkillers would b e harmful; 43/ 203 (21%) who did not give painkillers because the accident did not happen at home; and 15/203 (7%) who thought analgesia was the respo nsibility of the hospital. Eighty eight of the 276 (32%) did not have any p ainkillers, suitable for children, at home. A&E staff administered pain rel ief in 189/276 (68%). Conclusions-Parents often do not give their children pain relief before att ending the A&E department. Parents think that giving painkillers may be har mful and often do not have simple analgesics at home. Some parents do not p erceive that their child is in pain. Parents require education about appropriate pre-hospital pain relief for th eir children.