Annual Meeting Preview

By Vidya Chidambaran, MD, MS
Program Chair

I am happy to give you a preview of the exciting, rich and diverse program planned for the SPPM 6th Annual Meeting. We present a wide range of pediatric pain topics, of special interest to pediatric perioperative, chronic and palliative care providers, including psychologists.

We will begin the day with a focus on the hot topic of substance abuse in adolescents and how we as pain providers can make a difference in mitigating this problem. Dr. Rae Brown from University of Kentucky will discuss the scientific basis of risk-taking, opioid tolerance and novel therapies of substance abuse in adolescence; Dr. Diana Deister, psychiatrist at Boston Children’s Hospital, will discuss the screening, risk assessment and prevention of substance abuse in adolescents. In response to the opioid crisis, opioid minimization is the current mantra; however, the swing of the opioid pendulum can pose dangers including uncontrolled pain. Dr. David Moore from Cincinnati Children's Hospital will present the conundrum of how little (opioids) is too little. You will not want to miss the pro/con hot debate on this topic by our colleagues Dr. Alan Bielsky from Colorado and Dr. Thomas Anderson from Stanford!

We will then divert our attention to a daunting task faced by all practitioners - pain management of sickle cell disease. First, we will have a face-to-face discussion with a patient who will share their unique pain experiences, followed by a discussion of pain management challenges in children with sickle cell disease by Dr. William Zempsky from Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and the socioeconomic concerns associated with this, presented by Dr. Benjamin Lee from Texas Children’s Hospital. The afternoon will be packed with rapid fire presentations on a mixed bag of sizzling topics. Dr. Kenneth Goldschneider from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will discuss nuances of phantom limb pain and its management and Dr. Nihar Patel from University of Texas Houston will shed light on newer regional blocks like erector spinae and quadratus lumborum. The last few presentations will shed light on acute to chronic pain transitions which have several socioeconomic implications and provide opportunities for prevention. Dr. Jennifer Rabbitts from Seattle Children’s Hospital will discuss risk factors and preventive strategies for chronic postsurgical pain, and Dr. Laura Simons, psychologist from Stanford University, will elaborate on the role of fear in pain persistence in children.

We look forward to your active participation in the problem based learning discussions and workshops to make this a vibrant, interactive and wonderful educational experience. See y’all in Houston for the meeting!