Pain management in neonates

Recent research suggests that infants may be more vulnerable to the negativ e effects of pain than older children and adults. Apart from short-term eff ects, untreated pain and stressful stimuli may also have long-term effects, which may later affect their neurological development, including the react ion to pain. The preterm neonate is at especially high risk. Despite convin cing evidence from recent research of the necessity to treat pain and to av oid early exposure to pain, the neonate is still subjected to painful proce dures and even surgery without adequate pain treatment. This inadequacy cou ld be due to insecurity regarding the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of pain-related drugs, to a limited understanding of the pain behaviour an d pain physiology and the lack of appropriate measurement tools. The presen t paper reviews recent research in relation to management of pain in the ne wborn and considers implications for practice and future studies.