Medicines management in children and young people: pharmacological approaches to treat pain.

Why you should read this article: • To enhance your knowledge of the physiology of pain • To understand the various types of medicines used to manage pain in children and young people • To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers) • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers). Pain management in children is often more complex than in adults, since pain in children can be more challenging to assess and therefore more challenging to treat. It is essential that children’s nurses have knowledge and understanding of the physiology of pain and the analgesics available to treat different types of pain. This article describes nociception and provides an overview of the three main groups of analgesics – non-opioids, opioids and adjuvants – that can be used in the pharmacological management of pain in children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]