Site, frequency, and duration of pain in young children with spina bifida.
Ann I Alriksson-Schmidt, Katherine Ong, Matthew R Reeder and 2 others
PMID 34776433WHAT IT FOUND
Pain frequency and duration did not differ by child sex, lesion level, spina bifida type, or walking status.
Still, 69 of 101 caregivers reported their child complained of pain, often in the head, abdomen, or lower body.
Key findings
0169 of 101 caregivers reported that their child complained of pain, with frequency ranging from once a month or less to every day.
02The most commonly reported pain sites were the head, abdomen, and lower body.
03Caregiver-reported pain frequency did not differ significantly by child sex, level of lesion, spina bifida type, or ambulation status.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
Caregivers reported the children's pain, and the study did not compare caregiver reports with child reports. Pain was measured only as frequency and duration, not intensity or interference with activities. Many pain items were single or screening items rather than validated pain measures. The sample was small and myelomeningocele is rare, so comparisons by sex, lesion level, spina bifida type, and ambulation may have missed real differences. Most caregivers were mothers, and fathers may report pain differently. The study was cross-sectional, so correlations between caregiver and child health do not show cause. Caregiver-reported child health and caregiver health may share a reporting bias. Only 101 of 152 eligible children participated, and participation options were not randomized. Participants came from Arizona and Utah, so generalizability may be limited.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report a conflicts of interest or funding declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lack of significant differences by sex, lesion level, spina bifida type, or walking status as proof that these factors do not affect pain. The study measured only complaint frequency and duration, not pain intensity or interference, and the sample was small.