Volume 9, Issue 3: Pain management in child burn injuries

Pain management in child burn injuries: a hot topic

It’s a wet and windy Saturday afternoon and you have just booked clear at the local emergency department when you are dispatched to a 3 year-old girl with a scald injury. On arrival at an unkempt property you find her screaming with her arm under the cold tap, the child’s father seems irate and agitated. How do you best assess the scene and manage this patient?

CPD Benefit

Children are particularly susceptible to burn injuries. Within England and Wales, the most common cause of childhood burn referral and admission is scalds. This article examines the various issues involved in managing such injuries in children, including any safeguarding concerns. It outlines the criteria for transport to a burns unit; burn measurement and treatment in children and pain measurement and treatment in children using age appropriate tools. This will help you assess and manage these patients safely and effectively.

Assessment Answers and References

You can check your answers to the quiz and download the references for this article by clicking the links below:

Standby CPD Volume 9 – Assessment Answers

Standby CPD – Vol. 9 No. 3 – References