Dr Christine Lamontagne is a pediatric anesthesiologist, pain physician and clinical researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. She is the Medical Director of the Chronic Pain Services where she has lead the creation of an interdisciplinary chronic pain service. She has Co-Chaired the development of the Ontario Pediatric Chronic Pain Network in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health and continues to work at improving access to interdisciplinary chronic pain care for all children. She has developed national recognition for research in acute and chronic pain as collaborator on the CIHR funded strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Chronic Pain Network (CPN). Her current research focus is in the area of pediatric pain prevention and management and includes:
(1) Utilizing quality improvement methodology to improve pain outcomes for chronic pain patients navigating the current health care system through patient engagement and transition to adult care (2) Identifying strategies to improve acute pain management in order to prevent the development of chronic pain by addressing one of the major risk factor: pain catastrophizing (3) Evaluating the role of different approaches (physical, psychological and pharmacological) in improving pain outcomes for chronic pain patients treated in an interdisciplinary context through the use of online resources and workshops. 4) Estimating the incidence of pediatric Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, describe the pain trajectories and evaluate best therapeutic approaches.
Research Projects
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Virtual psychoeducation for improvement of pain catastrophizing in pediatric presurgical patients and caregivers: A proof-of-concept study
03/10/2024
Youth (n = 43) and caregivers (n = 41) attended a virtual, group-based single-session intervention (SSI). Single-session intervention content addressed pain neuroscience, PC, and adaptive coping strategies for managing pain and PC drawn from cognitive-behavioural, acceptance and commitment, and dialectical behaviour therapy approaches. Participants completed questionnaires assessing PC at preintervention, postintervention, and two weeks postsurgery. Youth mood and anxiety were assessed at preintervention.
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Triage Decision-Making in Interdisciplinary Pediatric Chronic Pain Programs
10/04/2024
Pediatric chronic pain is considered a significant problem worldwide (Tutelman et al., 2021). Chronic pain in children and adolescents not only increases risk of mobility issues, significant fatigue, poor sleep, school absenteeism, decreased cognitive function, and worsening mental health (Miro et al., 2022), but also increases risk for opioid misuse in youth (Pielech et al., 2020). Interdisciplinary pediatric chronic pain programs are the gold standard for the treatment of chronic pain (Law et al., 2013); however the limited number of programs (Caes et al., 2018) may contribute to prolonged wait times. Lengthy wait times to access pain care in children and adolescents have been linked to increased frustration, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness (Palermo et al., 2019). Because of the variability in complexity and disability between pediatric chronic pain patients (Wagner et al., 2013), it is essential to optimize triage decisions to chronic pain programs to accurately prioritize pain care for patients in highest need. Still there is no established model or framework for this purpose.