Pain Experience in Children With Advanced Cancer

Background: It is important for health care professionals to understand the pain experience in children with advanced cancer. There has been increased attention to this topic, but systematic studies are limited. Objective: To examine pain symptoms and management in children with advanced cancer using child self-report and nurse documentation. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal method was used to collect data from 62 children over a 5-month period. Children were English and Spanish speaking, ages 6 to 17 years, with advanced cancer. Nurses also provided data. Results: Across all interviews, pain was reported 56% of the time by all children. Nurses documented pain only 23% of the time. Children most frequently reported head pain (31%), followed by abdomen, lower back, leg, and feet pain (20% to 30%). Children consistently reported more intense pain compared with nurses. Nonopioids were used more frequently (45%) than opioids (32%), and nurses’ perception of pain intensity was more highly correlated with a...