TY - JOUR

T1 - Investigating the use of physical restraint of children in emergency departments

T2 - A Scandinavian survey

AU - Aaberg Lauridsen, Julie

AU - Lefort Sønderskov, Michele

AU - Hetmann, Fredrik

AU - Hamilton, Annika

AU - Salmi, Heli

AU - Wildgaard, Kim

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank all the responders and participating departments for taking time to participate in the project. The authors have no conflict of interest. The investigators are paid via their local institutions, and no funding was otherwise obtained. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the current frequency of physical restraint and the use of analgesics and sedatives for treating pediatric pain in emergency departments (EDs) in Scandinavia. Methods: We performed a nation-wide electronic survey asking nurses in the emergency departments in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden about their experience treating children in pain. Results: Responses from 103 Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nurses were included (79% response rate). Physical restraint was reported used at 79% [70.0-85.9] (N = 78) of the surveyed departments (DK: 96%, NO: 67%, SE: 77%) with two participants reporting daily use of physical restraint. Paracetamol was available at all departments and used most frequently. Sedation was available at 88% [78.8-92.0] of the departments with midazolam as the most recurrent sedative (83%, [74.8-89.4]). Seventy-three percent of respondents reported a need for better treatments. Lack of education was the most frequently reported obstacle for providing both pain treatment (29%) and sedation (43%) followed by lack of guidelines. Conclusion: Physical restraint of children during painful procedures is used in the majority of Scandinavian emergency departments (79%). There appears to be a lack of local guidelines for both pain treatment and sedation.

AB - Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the current frequency of physical restraint and the use of analgesics and sedatives for treating pediatric pain in emergency departments (EDs) in Scandinavia. Methods: We performed a nation-wide electronic survey asking nurses in the emergency departments in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden about their experience treating children in pain. Results: Responses from 103 Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nurses were included (79% response rate). Physical restraint was reported used at 79% [70.0-85.9] (N = 78) of the surveyed departments (DK: 96%, NO: 67%, SE: 77%) with two participants reporting daily use of physical restraint. Paracetamol was available at all departments and used most frequently. Sedation was available at 88% [78.8-92.0] of the departments with midazolam as the most recurrent sedative (83%, [74.8-89.4]). Seventy-three percent of respondents reported a need for better treatments. Lack of education was the most frequently reported obstacle for providing both pain treatment (29%) and sedation (43%) followed by lack of guidelines. Conclusion: Physical restraint of children during painful procedures is used in the majority of Scandinavian emergency departments (79%). There appears to be a lack of local guidelines for both pain treatment and sedation.

KW - acute pain

KW - analgesia

KW - pediatric pain management

KW - Scandinavia

U2 - 10.1111/aas.13833

DO - 10.1111/aas.13833

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33866540

AN - SCOPUS:85104867899

VL - 65

SP - 1116

EP - 1121

JO - Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica

JF - Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica

SN - 0001-5172

IS - 8

ER -