Treatment of Unspecific Back Pain in Children and Adolescents: Results of an Evidence-Based Interdisciplinary Guideline.

Using a structured approach and expert consensus, we developed an evidence-based guideline on the treatment and prevention of non-specific back pain in children and adolescents. A comprehensive and systematic literature search identified relevant guidelines and studies. Based on the findings of this literature search, recommendations on treatment and prevention were formulated and voted on by experts in a structured consensus-building process. Physical therapy (particularly physical activity) and psychotherapy (particularly cognitive behavioral therapy) are recommended for treating pediatric non-specific back pain. Intensive interdisciplinary treatment programs should be provided for chronic and severe pain. Drug therapy should not be applied in children and adolescents. Further research on non-specific back pain in childhood and adolescence is strongly needed to reduce the imbalance between the high burden of non-specific back pain in childhood and adolescence and the low research activity in this field.

Etiology, Risk Factors, and Diagnosis of Back Pain in Children and Adolescents: Evidence- and Consensus-Based Interdisciplinary Recommendations.

Using a structured approach and expert consensus, we developed an evidence-based guideline on the diagnosis of back pain and the treatment of non-specific back pain in children and adolescents. The first part comprises etiology, risk factors, and diagnosis. The second part, published in the same issue, includes treatment and prevention. A comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted to identify relevant guidelines and studies. Based on the findings of this literature search, recommendations on risk factors and diagnosis were formulated and voted on by experts in a structured consensus-building process. Notable red flags for specific back pain and evidence-based risk factors for non-specific back pain in children and adolescents were identified. Only three evidence-based recommendations could be formulated for causes, red flags, and risk factors for back pain, while two recommendations are based on expert consensus. Regarding diagnostics, eight expert consensus recommendations and one evidence-based recommendation could be provided. Despite the importance of adequate diagnosis for the treatment of back pain in children and adolescents, results of this work confirm the deficit in research investment in this area.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents with chronic pain.

OBJECTIVE: Despite high comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain evident in adult populations, little research has been conducted in the pediatric population to assess this association. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of trauma and PTSD in pediatric patients with chronic pain. Additionally, investigation into whether the Child Report of Posttraumatic Symptoms (CROPS) is a valid PTSD screening tool for this patient population and identification of an appropriate clinical cutoff for screening PTSD was undertaken. METHOD: Data of N = 297 children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 years were collected during an intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment. At admission, patients self-reported pain characteristics and posttraumatic stress symptoms (assessed with the CROPS). During the inpatient stay, therapists completed a checklist that enabled a PTSD diagnosis according to criteria of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). RESULTS: Overall, 18.2% of the patients reported a trauma that met criterion A of DSM-5. Of those patients, approximately 59.3% had a PTSD diagnosis, equivalent to 10.8% of the whole sample. Overall, the CROPS demonstrated good reliability and validity in terms of internal consistency, item characteristics, and factor structure. Patients with PTSD had higher CROPS scores than patients without trauma. To identify patients with PTSD, a CROPS cutoff point of 21 is most appropriate in this population. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated high prevalence of PTSD in children and adolescents with severe chronic pain. Regarding PTSD screening in this population, results revealed that valid PTSD assessment and identification of patients with PTSD seems possible despite overlapping symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Efficacy of adding interoceptive exposure to intensive interdisciplinary treatment for adolescents with chronic pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Fear of pain plays an important role in the maintenance of chronic pain. It may be reduced through exposure therapy. This 2-arm parallel samples randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate whether interoceptive exposure (IE) therapy enhances reductions in fear of pain (primary outcome), pain (pain intensity, pain-related disability, and school absence), and emotional characteristics (anxiety and catastrophizing) when implemented as an adjunctive treatment in the context of intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment for pediatric chronic pain patients. N = 126 adolescents, aged 11 to 17 years, who were receiving standard intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment were randomly assigned to either receive additional IE (n = 64) or additional relaxation therapy (RT) (n = 62). All patients were assessed at admission, discharge, and 3 months after discharge. The data of N = 104 patients were analyzed. Significant large reductions were found in the total score and subscale scores of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire for Children in both study groups (eg, total score [range 0-60; IE/RT]: admission M = 23.5/24.9; discharge M = 16.0/19.7; P < 0.001, (Equation is included in full-text article.)= 0.27) and mainly large reductions in pain characteristics. There were no greater decreases in the IE group (P > 0.1). The exploratory analyses revealed that the patients with high fear of pain before treatment (P < 0.05, (Equation is included in full-text article.)> 0.03) and the patients with abdominal pain (P < 0.04, (Equation is included in full-text article.)> 0.25) showed greater decreases in their fear of pain (total and subscale score) in the IE group than in the RT group. In conclusion, the results suggest that IE is not particularly effective for all the pediatric chronic pain patients, but the patients with high fear of pain before treatment and with abdominal pain strongly benefit from this intervention.

Inpatient-based intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment for highly impaired children with severe chronic pain: randomized controlled trial of efficacy and economic effects.

Pediatric chronic pain, which can result in deleterious effects for the child, bears the risk of aggravation into adulthood. Intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) might be an effective treatment, given the advantage of consulting with multiple professionals on a daily basis. Evidence for the effectiveness of IIPT is scarce. We investigated the efficacy of an IIPT within a randomized controlled trial by comparing an intervention group (IG) (n=52) to a waiting-list control group (WCG) (n=52). We made assessments before treatment (PRE), immediately after treatment (POST), as well as at short-term (POST6MONTHS) and long-term (POST12MONTHS) follow-up. We determined a combined endpoint, improvement (pain intensity, disability, school absence), and investigated 3 additional outcome domains (anxiety, depression, catastrophizing). We also investigated changes in economic parameters (health care use, parental work absenteeism, subjective financial burden) and their relationship to the child's improvement. Results at POST showed that significantly more children in the IG than in the WCG were assigned to improvement (55% compared to 14%; Fisher P<.001; 95% confidence interval for incidence difference: 0.21% to 0.60%). Although immediate effects were achieved for disability, school absence, depression, and catastrophizing, pain intensity and anxiety did not change until short-term follow-up. More than 60% of the children in both groups were improved long-term. The parents reported significant reductions in all economic parameters. The results from the present study support the efficacy of the IIPT. Future research is warranted to investigate differences in treatment response and to understand the changes in economic parameters in nonimproved children.

Maintaining lasting improvements: one-year follow-up of children with severe chronic pain undergoing multimodal inpatient treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-term effectiveness of a 3-week multimodal inpatient program for children and adolescents with chronic pain. METHODS: 167 adolescents were evaluated at pretreatment baseline, 3-, and 12-month follow-up. Long-term effectiveness was investigated for pain-related variables (pain-related disability, school absence, pain intensity) and emotional distress. RESULTS: We found statistically and clinically significant changes in all variables. After 1 year, the majority (56%) showed overall improvement as indexed by decreased pain-related disability or school absence. 22% had an unsuccessful treatment outcome. Those showing only short-term improvements had higher levels of emotional distress at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: 1 year after completing a multimodal inpatient program adolescents report less chronic pain, disability, and emotional distress. Clinically significant changes remain stable. Adolescents with high levels of emotional distress at admission may require special attention to maintain positive treatment outcomes. Specialized inpatient therapy is effective for children with chronic pain.

Characteristics of highly impaired children with severe chronic pain: a 5-year retrospective study on 2249 pediatric pain patients.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of pain as a recurrent symptom in children is known to be high, but little is known about children with high impairment from chronic pain seeking specialized treatment. The purpose of this study was the precise description of children with high impairment from chronic pain referred to the German Paediatric Pain Centre over a 5-year period. METHODS: Demographic variables, pain characteristics and psychometric measures were assessed at the first evaluation. Subgroup analysis for sex, age and pain location was conducted and multivariate logistic regression applied to identify parameters associated with extremely high impairment. RESULTS: The retrospective study consisted of 2249 children assessed at the first evaluation. Tension type headache (48%), migraine (43%) and functional abdominal pain (11%) were the most common diagnoses with a high rate of co-occurrence; 18% had some form of musculoskeletal pain disease. Irrespective of pain location, chronic pain disorder with somatic and psychological factors was diagnosed frequently (43%). 55% of the children suffered from more than one distinct pain diagnosis. Clinically significant depression and general anxiety scores were expressed by 24% and 19% of the patients, respectively. Girls over the age of 13 were more likely to seek tertiary treatment compared to boys. Nearly half of children suffered from daily or constant pain with a mean pain value of 6/10. Extremely high pain-related impairment, operationalized as a comprehensive measure of pain duration, frequency, intensity, pain-related school absence and disability, was associated with older age, multiple locations of pain, increased depression and prior hospital stays. 43% of the children taking analgesics had no indication for pharmacological treatment. CONCLUSION: Children with chronic pain are a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge as they often have two or more different pain diagnoses, are prone to misuse of analgesics and are severely impaired. They are at increased risk for developmental stagnation. Adequate treatment and referral are essential to interrupt progression of the chronic pain process into adulthood.

Obesity in disabled children and adolescents: an overlooked group of patients.

BACKGROUND: There is an ongoing debate concerning the relationship between disability and obesity in childhood and adolescence. METHODS: The literature available in Medline was selectively searched for the terms: "(children /OR/ adolescents) /AND/ disability /AND/ (overweight /OR/ obesity)". This search was complemented by inspection of journals in the fields of obesity, pediatrics, and neurology. RESULTS: A total of 38 relevant articles were identified. All studies agreed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children with disabilities was almost twice that in their non-disabled peers. No effective, long-lasting interventions for obesity in disabled children and adolescents have been published. CONCLUSION: Since a high proportion of disabled children and adolescents are overweight or obese, effective strategies for preventing and managing excess weight need to be developed so as not to further endanger their social participation. Moreover, risk factors for overweight in disabled children and adolescents should be identified and their weight status carefully monitored.

The pain provocation technique for adolescents with chronic pain: preliminary evidence for its effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the "pain provocation technique" (PPT)--a focused treatment strategy incorporating interoceptive exposure (i.e., imagining increases in pain intensity), bilateral stimulation (tactile stimulation), and implementation of pain-related coping to decrease pain intensity--for adolescents suffering from chronic pain. DESIGN: Prospective observational comparative study. METHODS: Adolescents utilizing PPT (19 boys and 21 girls) within multimodal inpatient treatment were compared with adolescents in standard multimodal inpatient treatment matched for age, gender, and diagnosis. Core outcome variables (pain intensity, disability, emotional distress) were assessed at admission and 3 months posttreatment. RESULTS: Adolescents in the PPT group demonstrated a sharper decrease in pain intensity and school aversion. Both groups demonstrated significant reductions in disability and emotional distress. CONCLUSIONS: Results are discussed in terms of the importance of focused treatment strategies such as interoceptive exposure for adolescents suffering from disabling chronic pain. Future studies are warranted to carefully investigate the effectiveness and possible process of change during the PPT such as sensory, cognitive, emotional, and memory aspects.

Changes in pain-related coping strategies and their importance for treatment outcome following multimodal inpatient treatment: does sex matter?

UNLABELLED: While sex differences in pain-related coping have been widely reported, little is known on sex differences in changes in coping following multimodal pain treatment and how these changes relate to treatment outcome. The present prospective study therefore aimed to investigate sex differences in coping strategies between boys and girls with chronic pain prior to multimodal inpatient treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Sixty-four boys and 103 girls with various pain disorders were evaluated. Core outcomes (pain intensity and pain-related disability) and coping were assessed via validated questionnaires. At admission, boys and girls used similar coping strategies. Three months following treatment, boys and girls decreased passive pain coping and seeking social support while they maintained the degree of positive self-instruction. Girls displayed higher seeking social support than boys and of importance, only for girls, a reduction in seeking social support was related to decreases in pain intensity. In both groups, the changes in coping were related to positive treatment outcome. Results suggest that both groups may benefit from reductions in passive pain coping and seeking social support. The causal quality of this relationship remains to be determined in future studies. Gender-role expectations and family interactions may account for the sex differences demonstrated for seeking social support. PERSPECTIVE: Boys and girls with chronic pain show profound similarities in pain-related coping strategies prior and after multimodal pain treatment. The changes in coping are related to positive treatment outcomes. Sex-specific treatment strategies for changing seeking social support may need to be developed and tested for their differential efficacy in boys and girls.

Effectiveness of a multimodal inpatient treatment for pediatric chronic pain: a comparison between children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate short and long-term treatment outcome of children (7-10 years) in comparison to adolescents (11-18 years) with disabling chronic pain following multimodal inpatient pain treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-three children and 167 adolescents underwent multimodal inpatient pain treatment. Standardized assessment of pain-related variables, disability, coping, and use of analgesics was performed at admission, 3- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Children and adolescents displayed similar pain-characteristics at admission. Adolescents demonstrated significantly higher disability and passive pain coping. Children relied more on others when in pain. All core variables (i.e., pain intensity, pain-related disability, school absence and pain-related coping) decreased significantly in both children and adolescents after 3 months. Both groups maintained this decline 12 months later. More than half of the children and adolescents demonstrated a 50%-reduction in pain intensity after 3 months, and almost 60% after 12 months. Use of analgesics was significantly reduced at 3-month follow-up with no additional changes after 12 months. While age did not exert any impact on results, there were significant gender differences in pain intensity and school absence. Girls demonstrated higher pain intensity and higher school absence 1 year following treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Children display similar pain-characteristics to adolescents when entering inpatient treatment. A multimodal inpatient program appears to stop the the long-term vicious cycle of disability and pain for both children and adolescents. The demonstrated gender differences raise issues for further research and the possibility of additional pain management strategies for girls.

Effectiveness of a 3-week multimodal inpatient pain treatment for adolescents suffering from chronic pain: statistical and clinical significance.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a 3-week multimodal inpatient pain program for children and adolescents with chronic pain. METHODS: Effectiveness was investigated for pain-related variables (pain intensity, pain-related disability) and emotional distress in 3 ways: (1) in terms of statistically significant changes; (2) in terms of the clinical significance of these changes by creating post-hoc outcome groups for pain-related variables and emotional distress; and (3) in terms of the clinically significant overall amelioration generalizing the outcome over 3 variables (ie, pain intensity, pain-related disability, and school absence). One hundred sixty-seven adolescents (aged between 11 and 18 y) with various pain disorders (50% with headache) who met inpatient criteria were evaluated at baseline and 3 months posttreatment. RESULTS: Patients demonstrated statistically significant changes in all variables with large to medium effect sizes. Seventy-two percent and 45% of the patients demonstrated clinically significant changes in pain intensity and pain-related disability, respectively. The percentages of patients demonstrating clinically significant change in emotional distress ranged from 13% to 26%. Seventy-seven adolescents demonstrated overall amelioration. DISCUSSION: Results of the study are promising in at least 2 ways: (1) a multimodal inpatient program might stop the negative effects of chronic pain, disability, and emotional distress in children and adolescents, and (2) the exploration of clinical significance testing has demonstrated utility and can be applied to future effectiveness studies in pediatric pain.