Citation

Lambrinakos-Raymond K, Ali S, Dubrovsky AS, Burstein B. J. Pediatr. 2019; 210: 20-25.e2.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: brett.burstein@mail.mcgill.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.02.035

PMID

30955787

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of pediatric patients with a concussion who received analgesia when presenting with pain to US emergency departments, and to describe the analgesics used. STUDY DESIGN: This was a repeated cross-sectional analysis study using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey database of nationally representative emergency department visits from 2007 to 2015. We included children under 18 years old with isolated concussions. Survey weighting procedures were applied to generate population-level estimates and to perform multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with analgesic administration.

RESULTS: There were an estimated 1.54 million isolated concussion visits during the 9-year study period. Pain at presentation was reported frequently (78%), with the majority rated as moderate (36%) or severe (27%). Among all children reporting pain, 42% received no analgesics, including 40% with moderate-to-severe pain intensity. Multivariable analysis found younger age, male sex, and treatment in a nonacademic hospital were all negatively associated with analgesic administration. The medications most frequently administered were acetaminophen (54%), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (44%), and opioids (13%).

CONCLUSIONS: Analgesic medications seem to be underused in the treatment of pediatric concussion-related pain. Following acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, opioids, which are not recommended for this condition, were the most frequently prescribed analgesics. Further research should establish optimal, consistent, and responsible pain management strategies for pediatric concussions.

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

analgesia; opioids; post-traumatic headache