Prevalence of pain in pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment at the Colombian National Cancer Institute - INC.

Abstract

Introduction: Hospitalized children continue to experience pain ranging in intensity from moderate to severe in 25-64% of the cases during hospital admission. Nevertheless, this symptom remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in the pediatric population. Objective: To characterize the presence of pain within the first 24 hours of hospital admissions in patients aged 3 to 17 undergoing cancer treatment, hospitalized at the Colombian National Cancer Institute (INC) in the city of Bogota. Methods: Descriptive, observational and retrospective study. The frequency of pain in patients under 18 years of age undergoing oncologic treatment was obtained by reviewing medical records to assess the presence of pain during the first 24 hours of hospital admission. Results: A total of 193 pediatric patients were included. The prevalence of pain in the pediatric population during the first 24 hours of hospitalization was 40.4% (95% CI: 33.4% to 47.7%). The most common pain scale used was the numeric pain rating scale in 67.9% of the children with a median age of 13 years (IQR=5). Most of the children showed mild pain (63.6%). Among the causes of pain reported in the patients the most common were causes related to the underlying disease (58 patients, 74.36%), followed by surgical procedures (21.7%). Conclusion: Pain in children with cancer is more prevalent. Therefore, it is crucial to make an early and in-depth assessment of pain while under medical care, as this symptom has been underdiagnosed for years, and therefore undertreated. Keywords: pain, pediatrics, prevalence.