Guidelines for Complications of Cancer Treatment Vol VIII Part B

patients, or other patients who may have difficultycommunicating.Pediatric PatientsAbsence of parents, security objects, and familiar surroundingsmay cause as much suffering as the surgical incision.Aggressive and proactive pain management is necessaryto overcome the historic under treatment of pain inchildren.Peri-operative care for children undergoing painfulprocedures or surgery requires developmentallyappropriate pain assessment and therapy.Analgesic therapy should depend on age, weight, andcomorbidity, and unless contraindicated should involvea multimodal approach.Behavioral techniques, especially important inaddressing the emotional component of pain, should beapplied whenever feasible.Sedative, analgesic, and local anesthetics are allimportant components of appropriate analgesic regimensfor painful procedures.As many analgesic medications are synergistic withsedating agents, it is imperative that appropriatemonitoring be employed during the procedure andrecovery.Geriatric Patients Pain assessment and therapy should be integrated intothe perioperative care of geriatric patients. Painassessment tools appropriate to a patient’s cognitiveabilities should be employed.60