Analgesic Use in Children With Acute Abdominal Pain

Study Objective: To determine the frequency of analgesic use in children (5 to 17 years inclusive) who present to a pediatric emergency department with acute abdominal pain. Methods: A retrospective medical record review of patients presenting to a children's hospital over a 1-year period with a chief complaint of abdominal pain and subsequently referred to the pediatric surgical service. The records were reviewed to determine emergency department analgesic use, patient disposition, and laparotomy rate. Results: Two hundred ninety patients met our inclusion criteria. Of the patients seen initially by emergency physicians, 14.3% received analgesics, while those seen directly by the surgical service received analgesia 15.4% of the time. The laparotomy rate for the 290 patients was 46.6%. Conclusions: Analgesic use in children who present to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain and require a surgical consultation was very low, although half required a laparotomy. Prospective studies are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of analgesic use in this setting.