Managing pain in neonates

Pain should always be treated to inhibit its deleterious effects, however, analgesia is not benign and does carry some risk and potential complications. A full understanding of the physiological responses to pain and the positive and negative responses to analgesia is required by veterinary nurses treating neonates in pain. In neonates these responses can differ greatly to adults, and nursing techniques should be adapted to encompass these requirements. In addition, unmanaged painful experience, especially when the nervous system is developing, may have a permanent negative impact on the animal (Mathews, 2008). Studies suggest that infants retain a ‘memory’ of a previous painful experience and their response to a subsequent painful stimulus is altered as this memory makes them more fearful (Taddio et al, 1997). There are many individual differences in reactions to pain; these can depend on species, temperament, gender and age (Taddio et al, 1997). Generally younger animals, particularly neonates, are more reactive to pain than adults, due to a lower threshold for pain (Pascoe, 2000).