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The Oxford Textbook of Paediatric Pain brings together an international team of experts to provide an authoritative and comprehensive textbook on all aspects of pain in infants, children and youth. Divided into nine sections, this resource analyses pain as a multifactorial problem and gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of this challenging subject. Topics covered include the biological, social, and psychological basis of pain, pain in specific populations, pain measurement, pharmacology, psychosocial and physical interventions, complementary therapies, education, and ethics of pain control in youths, children, and infants. Evidence-based chapters look in depth at areas ranging from the long-term effects of the pain in children, to sociodemographic differences in paediatric pain management. Case examples and online materials including scales, worksheets, and videos are provided to aid learning and illustrate the application of knowledge.Less

This resource presents the evolving concept and complex nature of pain with the intention of promoting a broadening of the existing paradigm within which pain is viewed and understood. Combining neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy of science, it reviews the history of pain and outlines the current concepts and theories regarding the mechanisms involved in the experience of pain. Experimental and clinical research in a broad array of areas including neonatal pain, empathy and pain, psychogenic pain, and genetics and pain is summarized. The notion of pain as a disease process rather than a symptom is highlighted. Although there is a continued interest in activation of the peripheral nociceptive system as a determining factor in the experience of pain, the growing appreciation for the brain as the intimate 'pain generator' is emphasized. The definition of consciousness and conscious awareness and a theory as to how it relates to nociceptive processing is discussed. Finally, it describes the potential benefit of incorporating some of the concepts from systems and quantum theory into our thinking about pain. Less