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Investigating the use of physical restraint of children in emergency departments: A Scandinavian survey
Author(s) -
Aaberg Lauridsen Julie,
Lefort Sønderskov Michele,
Hetmann Fredrik,
Hamilton Annika,
Salmi Heli,
Wildgaard Kim
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.13833
Subject(s) - medicine , sedation , norwegian , danish , sedative , midazolam , emergency medicine , emergency department , family medicine , physical therapy , medical emergency , psychiatry , anesthesia , philosophy , linguistics
Aim The aim of the study is to describe the current frequency of physical restraint and the use of analgesics and sedatives for treating pediatric pain in emergency departments (EDs) in Scandinavia. Methods We performed a nation‐wide electronic survey asking nurses in the emergency departments in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden about their experience treating children in pain. Results Responses from 103 Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nurses were included (79% response rate). Physical restraint was reported used at 79% [70.0‐85.9] (N = 78) of the surveyed departments (DK: 96%, NO: 67%, SE: 77%) with two participants reporting daily use of physical restraint. Paracetamol was available at all departments and used most frequently. Sedation was available at 88% [78.8‐92.0] of the departments with midazolam as the most recurrent sedative (83%, [74.8‐89.4]). Seventy‐three percent of respondents reported a need for better treatments. Lack of education was the most frequently reported obstacle for providing both pain treatment (29%) and sedation (43%) followed by lack of guidelines. Conclusion Physical restraint of children during painful procedures is used in the majority of Scandinavian emergency departments (79%). There appears to be a lack of local guidelines for both pain treatment and sedation.