Reducing children's fear when undergoing painful procedures.

Many children present to A&E departments with injuries or illnesses requiring brief but often moderately painful procedures such as suturing or replacement of fingernails following crush injuries to finger tips. Pain control is often dependent on the doctor and procedure planned, but fear often causes the child to become uncooperative and treatment is made difficult despite the analgesia. Reduction of this fear facilitates treatment and increases co-operation. We describe a trial of oral Midazolam, a short acting benzodiazepine, and document its effectiveness