Peds

Pediatric Analgesic

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Pediatric Analgesic, Analgesics in Children, Acute Pain Management in Children, Acute Pediatric Pain Management in the Emergency Department, Intranasal Analgesics in Children, Pediatric Intranasal Analgesia, Pediatric Non-Oral Analgesia

  • See Also
  1. Procedural Sedation and Analgesia
  2. Childlife Specialist Measures to Calm Children
  3. Medication Dosing Errors in Children
  4. Acute Pain Management
  5. Difficult Intravenous Access in Children
  • Evaluation
  • Pain Rating Scales
  1. FLACC Scale (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale)
    1. Indicated for preverbal children over age 2 months
  2. Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale
    1. Reliable pain rating scale for ages 4 to 12 years old
  3. Numeric Rating Scale (adult Pain Scale)
    1. Rate pain from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain)
    2. May be appropriate for children over age 8 years old
  • Precautions
  1. Children's pain is frequently under-treated in the emergency department
    1. Conditions are just as painful for children as they are for adults
      1. Pain transmission pathways are fully developed by 22 to 24 weeks gestation
      2. However pain inhibitory pathways are no fully developed in infants
        1. Infants may experience pain more than in older children
    2. Do not lie and do not make promises you cannot keep
    3. Empower children to pause the procedure when something is too painful
      1. Increases the pain threshold when they have the power to say stop
    4. Repeated and persistent untreated pain in children can have short and long lasting effects
      1. Short-term: Greater suffering, decreased function, increased and prolonged encounters
      2. Long-term: Procedure avoidance, heightened sensitivity and fear, lower pain thresholds, hyperalgesia
  2. Avoid Tramadol in children (risk of significant respiratory depression)
    1. Seen with Ultrarapid CYP2D6 metabolizers
    2. Avoid Tramadol use in children
    3. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm463499.htm
  3. Avoid Codeine in children
    1. Same concern with CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizers
  4. Exercise caution with Hydrocodone and Oxycodone
    1. Also metabolized by CYP2D6, but issues with Codeine and Tramadol not reported with these other agents
  1. Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
    1. Dose: 15 mg/kg/dose (up to 650 mg) every 6 hours (max: 75 mg/kg/day up to 4000 mg/day)
  2. Ibuprofen (Children's Motrin)
    1. Dose: 10 mg/kg/dose (up to 800 mg) every 6-8 hours (max: 2400 mg/day)
    2. Avoid under age 3 to 6 months
  3. Naproxen (Children's Naprosyn, for age >2 years old)
    1. Dose: 5-7 mg/kg (up to 500 mg) every 8-12 hours (max: 1250 mg/day)
  4. Ketorolac (Toradol)
    1. Dose: 0.5 mg/kg IV or IM (up to 30 mg) every 6 hours (90 mg/day, and limit to <5 days of use)
  5. Ketamine
    1. See Procedural Sedation and Analgesia
    2. Dose: 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg IV
      1. Pure Analgesic at this dose without the Hallucinations that occur at higher dose (0.5 mg/kg)
  1. Acetaminophen with Hydrocodone (Lortab Elixir)
    1. Better alternative to Acetaminophen with Codeine (which should be avoided in general)
    2. Components per 15 ml
      1. Hydrocodone 7.5 mg
      2. Acetaminophen 500 mg
    3. Dosing
      1. Age 2-3 years (12-15 kg or 27-34 lbs)
        1. Dose: 3.75 ml (0.75 tsp)
      2. Age 4-6 years (16-22 kg or 35-50 lbs)
        1. Dose: 5 ml (1 tsp)
      3. Age 7-9 years (23-31 kg or 51-69 lbs)
        1. Dose: 7.5 ml (1.5 tsp)
      4. Age 10-13 years (35-45 kg or 70-100 lbs)
        1. Dose: 10 ml (2.0 tsp)
  2. Acetaminophen with Oxycodone (Roxicet)
    1. Components
      1. Oxycodone 5 mg/5ml
      2. Acetaminophen 325 mg/5 ml
    2. Dosing
      1. Base on Oxycodone dose of 0.05 to 0.15 mg/kg/dose every 4-6 hours up to 5 mg/dose
  3. Oxycodone
    1. Dose: 0.05 to 0.15 mg/kg/dose (up to 5 mg) orally every 4-6 hours as needed
  4. Morphine Sulfate immediate release
    1. Dosing: 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg (up to 30 mg) per dose orally every 4-6 hours as needed
  5. Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
    1. Dosing: 0.05 mg/kg (up to 5 mg) orally every 4 to 6 hours as needed
  1. Used prior to Laceration Repair, or pre-phlebotomy
  2. LET Anesthesia (Lidocaine-Epinephrine-Tetracaine)
    1. Cover with Tegaderm for 20 minutes
  3. Jet Injection (J-Tip)
    1. Needle-free, high pressure, subcutaneous delivery of Buffered Lidocaine at future IV or phlebotomy site
  4. EMLA cream
    1. Delayed onset of action (60 min) makes it less helpful in ED (better for scheduled phlebotomy)
  5. LMX-4
    1. Liposomal Lidocaine within onset of action in 30 min (effect wanes by 60 min)
  6. Vapocoolant Sprays (e.g. Fluori-Methane spray)
    1. Replaced ethyl chloride sprays (newer agents are less volatile, less flammable)
  7. Buzzy Bee
    1. Vibrating plastic device with frozen liquid rings
  1. See Local Skin Anesthesia (includes maximum doses)
  2. See Regional Anesthesia
  3. See Hematoma Block
  4. See Digital Block
  5. See Lidocaine Local Skin Anesthesia
  6. See Field Block
  7. See Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity
  1. See Intranasal Drug Delivery Route
  2. Approach
    1. Maximal amount that may be absorbed intranasally is 0.3 ml
    2. Typical drug delivery is via a Mucosal Atomization Device (MAD Atomizer)
      1. Device has 0.1 ml dead space (draw up extra 0.1 ml medication)
      2. Alternatives when atomizer is unavailable
        1. Slow drip into the nose via syringe
        2. Syringe with angiocatheter plastic tip with slow drips into the nose
    3. Technique
      1. Blow nose before administration (Rhinorrhea and mucous may interfere with absorption)
      2. Direct the MAD Atomizer toward the occiput or ipsilateral eye (not up)
  3. Intranasal Fentanyl
    1. Dose: 1.5 to 2 mcg/kg intranasal up to 100 mcg/dose (1/2 in each nostril) via MAD Atomizer
  4. Intranasal Midazolam or Versed (for sedation for anxiolysis)
    1. Opioids are generally used instead (often with better effect)
    2. Dose: 0.3 to 0.5 mg/kg up to 10 mg/dose intranasal (1/2 in each nostril) using 5 mg/ml solution
    3. Onset in 3 to 5 minutes, peak effect in 10 minutes and duration 20 minutes
  5. Intranasal Ketamine (not in mainstream use yet as of 2022)
    1. Analgesia
      1. Ketamine 1 to 1.5 mg.kg (1/2 in each nostril)
    2. Procedural Sedation
      1. Use Ketamine 100 mg/ml if available (maximal nasal dose volume 0.5 ml)
      2. Dose: 2 to 4 mg/kg intranasally
      3. Onset of action: 10 min
      4. Duration: 15-20 min (up to 60 min)
      5. Observe for 60 min after procedure
    3. Efficacy
      1. Anecdotally not as affective as other routes of Ketamine, and Intranasal Fentanyl
      2. However prior dosing (1 mg/kg) was likely too low for Procedural Sedation
    4. References
      1. Graudins (2015) Ann Emerg Med 65(3): 248-54 [PubMed]
      2. Nordt, Poonai and Ramiakhan in Swadron (2022) EM:Rap 22(3): 5-6
  1. Fentanyl
    1. Dose: 1 mcg/kg IV or IM (up to 100 mcg) every 30-60 min
  2. Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
    1. Dose: 0.015 mg/kg (up to 1 mg) every 4-6 hours
  3. Morphine Sulfate
    1. Dose: 0.1 mg/kg IV or IM (up to 15 mg) every 1-2 hours
  1. Naloxone (Narcan) 0.1 mg mg/kg (up to 2 mg) IV, IM, SQ, ET
  2. Nalmefene
  3. Flumazenil (Romazicon)
  • Management
  • Infants - General Measures
  1. Sucrose (infants)
    1. 50% solution, 2 ml on the Tongue, 2 minutes prior to procedure
    2. Offers good analgesia prior to Heel Stick
    3. Haouari (1995) BMJ 310:1498-500 [PubMed]
  2. Sweet-ease Pacifiers
  3. Nonnutritive sucking via Pacifier
  4. Swaddling in warm blanket
  5. Facilitated Tucking
    1. Hold infant's arms and legs flexed close to torso
  • Management
  • Children - General Measures
  1. See Childlife Specialist Measures to Calm Children
  2. See Autism (includes interaction techniques)
  • References
  1. Dannenberg in Herbert (2017) EM:Rap 17(10): 5
  2. Hipskind and Kamboj (2016) Crit Dec Emerg Med 30(10): 15-23
  3. Khetarpal and Scott (2016) Crit Dec Emerg Med 30(5): 17-23
  4. Kosoko and Tobar (2021) Crit Dec Emerg Med 35(11): 3-9