Stepchildren in medicine: pain in children

While pain therapy for adult patients has been undergoing constant improvements for approximately three decades, there have been limited efforts to extend those initiatives to patients in childhood and adolescence. The lack of EBM studies and ethical considerations were the reasons for this situation. This refers in particular to the management of acute pain. In 2014 an extensive contribution in Der Schmerz pointed out how acute pain in children could be treated. Some of the most remarkable details are the revival of metamizol and the relatively low concerns about using opioids. Two applications are not recommended with children - intramuscular and subcutaneous administration. Other details are quite similar to the treatment standards used with adult patients, such as pain measurement, interdisciplinary training, management of analgesia, and exact documentation of course.