Non-pharmacological Methods for Pain Management in Pediatric Oncology: Evidences in Literature

Abstract

Introduction: Pain in children with malignant diseases is related to the disease itself or the diagnostic-therapeutic procedures. Regardless of the cause, the child must have its pain adequately treated. It is believed that adequate pain control occurs in 70% to 90% of the cases, when specific therapies for each patient are employed, including the combination of analgesics and non-pharmacological interventions. Objective: To identify the current non-pharmacological methods for pain management in pediatric oncology in the specialized literature. Method: Integrative literature review, with articles selected between 2008 and 2018 in the Virtual Health Library (VHL), PubMed, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases. 11 articles selected according to the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were fully analyzed Results: Three categories summarized the main findings: pain in pediatric oncology and the assessment instruments, benefits of complementary therapies for the management of pediatric cancer pain, and adverse effects of complementary therapies. Conclusion: Considering pain as a debilitating symptom for the pediatric population undergoing cancer treatment, evaluations made by health professionals must be trustworthy to its characteristics for proper management. Pain management is not limited to pharmacological therapies, some interventions proposed can complement the action of medications to minimize the pain and suffering experienced by these patients, in addition to avoiding the body’s tolerance and overload, due to the excessive use of painkillers.