The questions asked in the survey
What is the name of the hospital you’re working in?
Do you treat children in your emergency department? (Options: yes/no/no answer)
Do you have an official system for pain scoring children? (Options: yes/no/no answer)
Which systems do you use for pain scoring? (Options: Clinical evaluation/ VAS score
/Scale with faces/poker chip scale/ other (if other, specify)
Do you have a time limit as to how soon after arrival a child should be pain scored and if
necessary treated for pain? (Option: Immediately at arrival/ Within 20 minutes of arrival/
we do not have a standard for this/ when the patient is seen by a doctor/ other time target
(specify))
Which types of drugs would you typically use in your emergency department to treat a
child with MILD pain?
(Options: Local anaesthetic injected/ Local anaesthetic as ointment/ Local anaesthetic as
patch/N2O/Paracetamol/NSAID/Codeine/Other types of morphine/Nerve
blocks/Midazolam/Other (specify))
Which types of drugs would you typically use in your emergency department to treat a
child with MODERATE pain?
(Options: Local anaesthetic injected/ Local anaesthetic as ointment/ Local anaesthetic as
patch/N2O/Paracetamol/NSAID/Codeine/Other types of morphine/Nerve
blocks/Midazolam/Other (specify))
Which types of drugs would you typically use at your emergency department to treat a
child with SERVERE pain?
(Options: Local anaesthetic injected/ Local anaesthetic as ointment/ Local anaesthetic as
patch/N2O/Paracetamol/NSAID/Codeine/Other types of morphine/Nerve
blocks/Midazolam/Other (specify))
Is it an option in your emergency department to provide procedural sedation for minor
procedures in children?
(Options: Yes, we can provide procedural sedation in the emergency department / No,
procedural sedation takes places in the operating room/ No, procedural sedation for
children in minor procedures is not an option at our hospital)
Which types of sedation do you use for children at the emergency department where you
work? (Options: Midazolam/ other types of benzodiazepines/Propofol/ Lytic cocktail/N2O/
Chloral hydrate/ketamine/other)
Who performs the sedation? (Options: Nurses from the emergency department/Doctors
from the emergency department/Staff from the anaesthesia department/Others
How often is paediatric procedural sedation need but unavailable (e.g. for repositioning or
suturing)? (Options: On a daily basis/on a weekly basis/on a monthly basis/seldom or
never)
What is the reason(s) that procedural sedation is unavailable? (Shortage of nursing staff
in the emergency department/ Too few doctors in the emergency department/ Shortage of
anaesthesia staff/ lack of availability of theatre/OR time/ Lack of local guidelines for
procedural sedation/Lack of knowledge on procedural sedation among emergency
department staff/disagreement between doctors and nursing staff in the emergency
department about the need for procedural sedation/ disagreement between emergency
department staff and anaesthesia staff about the need for procedural sedation/ other
(please specify)
In your emergency department, how often does it happen that a child is physically
restrained in order to undergo a moderately painful procedure? (e.g. suturing of wounds):
(Options: On a daily basis/1-3 times per week /1-3 times per month/less than 1-3 times per
month/never)
In your opinion is there a need for better pain management and/or sedation in your
emergency department?
In your opinion what are obstacles to provide optimal treatment of pain in the emergency
department? (Options: Too few types of drugs available in the ED/Shortage of nursing
staff/nursing staff is not trained in pain management/sedation in children/No clinical
guidelines available in the department? The doctors working in the emergency room are
not trained in pain management/sedation in children/Not enough attention is given to pain
management issues/lack of knowledge on pain treatment among the patients
parents/Shortage of anaesthesia staff available for the emergency department/Other)
In your opinion how could pain management and/or sedation in your emergency
department be improved?