Transitional Pain Service Referral Criteria

Who can refer

All referrals must be submitted by a nurse practitioner or physician, using the SickKids referral process. If you would like your patient to be assessed while still admitted to hospital, please place an inpatient referral and notify pain clinic at 416-813-6975 that a referral has been placed. Otherwise please complete outpatient referral prior to discharge.

Patient age

0-17.5 years or currently being treated by a SickKids Provider

Clinical criteria

Inclusion criteria

Children, adolescents or their caregivers who are anxious or concerned about pain prior to an operative procedure.
Identified risk factors for chronic post-surgical pain.

Prior or current pain
Pre-existing mental health concerns (e.g. Anxiety, Depression)
Substance use
Parental catastrophizing (e.g. Parent fears of “worst case scenario”)
Significant psychosocial stressors or social determinants of health e.g. Housing instability, poverty, parental illness, trauma)
Major surgery or major trauma

Children or adolescents coming to hospital for procedures who may have complex pain assessment or management concerns after discharge.
Children or adolescents who require short-term opioid, benzodiazepine and/or adjunct pain medication titration/wean and ongoing management following discharge.
Children or adolescents who have been identified with acute onset post-surgical neuropathic pain requiring timely follow-up for assessment and management.
Children or adolescents with complex pain concerns needing timely but short-term pain management support.
Children or adolescents requiring assessment for advanced interventional pain techniques (e.g., nerve blocks) in the setting of cancer pain treatment and receiving care at Sick Kids.
Children or adolescents who present in an outpatient clinic or Emergency that require follow up for a pain complaint but do not meet the criteria for chronic pain referral.

Rejection criteria

We do not see the following patients:

Children or adolescents who have had recurrent or persistent pain for greater than 3 months and unrelated to surgery, please refer to the Chronic Pain Clinic
Children who are suspected to have a diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) or non-surgical/non-traumatic neuropathic pain, please refer to the Chronic Pain Clinic

Required supporting documentation

All referrals should include:

Reason for referral
Type, location, duration and descriptors of pain
Current medications
Relevant medical and surgical history
Goal of transitional pain consult

Community clinical resources

To find out more information about the Transitional Pain Clinic and resources to share with your patient and family, please visit our website