Abstract

BATALHA, Luís Manuel Cunha; FERNANDES, Ananda Maria; CAMPOS, Catarina de  and  GONCALVES, Ana Maria Pacheco Mendes Perdigão Costa. Pain assessment in children with cancer: a systematic review. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2015, vol.serIV, n.5, pp.119-127. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIV14013.

Background: The peculiarities of persistent pain in children with cancer make its assessment difficult. Aim: The aim was to identify persistent pain assessment tools and indicators related to this experience that have been used in children with cancer. Method of Review: Using Medline and CINAHL databases, primary studies between 2003 and 2013 assessing pain experience in children (0-18 years) with cancer were selected. The selection of studies, assessment of methodological quality, and data extraction and synthesis were performed by two researchers, following the guidelines of The Joanna Briggs Institute. Presentation and Interpretation of results: Out of the 16 selected studies, 15 pain assessment tools and 2 tools also assessing other indicators were identified. An array of other indicators associated to pain experience was also identified. Conclusion: The wide variety of tools identified for pain assessment suggests scarce evidence on the best tools. Due to the nature of cancer pain, the assessment of pain intensity alone provides a narrow view of the persistent pain experienced by children with cancer.

Keywords : pain; tool; child; cancer.

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