Critical Bytes - practical approaches to pain management

Course overview

Pain remains one of the most common and complex clinical challenges encountered across acute care, perioperative settings and primary care. Despite advances in analgesia, suboptimal pain assessment and management continue to impact patient outcomes, contributing to delayed recovery, prolonged hospital stays, increased risk of complications, and poor quality of life.

This Critical Bytes session provides a practical, evidence-informed update on the assessment and management of pain in both adult and paediatric patients. Using clinical case studies, we will explore the differences between acute, procedural, post-operative and chronic pain, including considerations in cancer-related pain.

The session will focus on structured pain assessment, including age-appropriate tools and the challenges of assessing pain cognitively impaired or non-verbal patients. Exploration via case studies and interactive polls examining how pain presents differently across patient groups and clinical contexts, with particular attention to the interaction between pain, agitation, and delirium.

Management strategies will be explored through a multimodal lens, incorporating both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. The session will address safe and effective use of analgesics including paracetamol, NSAIDs, opioids, and adjuvant therapies, with a strong focus on opioid stewardship reviewing strategies to minimise opioid-related harm, including appropriate administration, monitoring for adverse effects and discontinuation where appropriate.

This session will provide you with the tools to assess pain accurately, implement individualised management plans, and balance effective analgesia with patient safety across a range of clinical settings.

Attending this session will support your clinical decision making to effectively manage pain in adult and paediatric patients, reducing harm and supporting recovery.

By the end of the session, you will be able to:

1. Differentiate between acute, chronic, nociceptive, and neuropathic pain to guide appropriate management strategies
2. Apply validated pain assessment tools to adult and paediatric patients, including those who are non-verbal or cognitively impaired
3. Develop a multimodal pain management plan that incorporates pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions tailored to the patient and clinical context
4. Implement opioid stewardship principles by initiating, monitoring, and adjusting opioid therapy to maximise analgesia while minimising harm, including delirium risk