Analgesic Pain Management

Trauma patients often present paramedics with difficult situations to handle. These patients most likely have multiple injuries that the paramedic must treat including internal and external injuries. The main concern in treating trauma patients is controlling the pain that the patient may be experiencing while not compromising the patients hemodynamic and respiratory state. The most common drugs used in pain management in the pre-hospital setting often cause undesirable side effects, such as respiratory depression, hypotension, apnea, and bradycardia. All of these side effects combined with a trauma patient who is already compromised can lead to a much bigger issue. What if there was a drug that could treat the pain, calm the patient, and not cause the nasty side effects of traditional pain management? Ketamine provides us the answer to this question.

According to surveys, up to 80% of patients reported moderate to severe post-surgical pain, which can sometimes be left undertreated (Sinatra et al., 2005). Postoperative pain is generally managed with opioids, which carry numerous side effects. Side effects can be bothersome and possibly cause a delay in the postoperative healing process (Beard, Leslie, & Nemeth, 2011). IV acetaminophen can possibly decrease opioid consumption, minimize side effects, increase patient satisfaction, and decrease costs (Wininger et al., 2010). The purpose of this paper is to dive further into the research to present data on the effectiveness of IV acetaminophen in decreasing opioid usage and whether it produces an additive effect causing more effective pain management in the postop patient.

The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety

Narcotic analgesics, especially morphine are underused for pain control with in the medical field. This underuse is because medical professionals, including doctors, fear patient addiction, side effects and possible lose of their licenses. These fears deny adequate healing and a better quality of life to those who would benefit from a more effective use of these drugs, as done in hospice care.

Non-narcotic analgesics are the household drugs used to treat moderate pains. These include paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen. There are very few noticeable effects beyond treating specific pains (in contrast to narcotics, when a feeling of well-being takes over the body).

postoperative pain. (6) However, the effects of these drugs on pain control are compared in

Opioids are effective for the treatment of acute pain, such as pain following surgery. They have also been found to be important in palliative care (hospice) to help with the severe, chronic, disabling pain that may occur in some terminal conditions such as cancer. In many cases opioids are successful long-term care strategies for those with chronic cancer pain (CCP). There are not many alternatives for those with CCP like there are for those suffering acute or chronic non cancer pain (CNCP). In one study, conducted by Furlan et al. (2006), opioids were effective in the treatment of CNCP overall; they reduced pain and improved functional outcomes better than placebo. Strong opioids (oxycodone and morphine) were significantly superior, to naproxen and nortriptyline (respectively) for pain relief but not for functional outcomes. Unfortunately, Weak opioids (propoxyphene, tramadol and codeine) did not significantly outperform NSAIDs or TCAs for either pain relief or functional outcomes. Overall, if opioids are

Pain is a prevalent symptom among patients in general and in cancer patients. The treatment and control of pain have been through the years one of the most significant concerns of health workers and a constant inspiration for the scientific community in the search for the ideal drug to treat pain with the least possible amount of adverse reactions.

Pain is the most commonly reported reason for coming to the hospital in America. It’s causes have a massive variance, and in many chronic cases the root source of pain can not be articulated at all. When a patient reports pain, the role of the nurse, and the whole healthcare staff, is to aim to reduce that pain. In many cases pain reduction can be attained through nonpharmacologic, complementary and alternative methods (CAM). Using CAM to reduce pain is an ideal scenario for both the patient and the healthcare staff as these alternative methods have fewer negative consequential effects.

The major concepts of this theory are defined theoretically since the use of these definitions is from a broader theoretic concept. Therefore, an operational concept could be developed from them. There is consistency in the use of these concepts throughout the theory of acute pain management with examples given using the same language as well as maintaining the integrity of the concepts.

The quality of life has become more and more significant in the management of cancer. Patients with cancer are surviving longer due to technology advancements in being able to detect the cancer early. Because of this patients are suffering with unmanageable pain during illness and treatment. This represents the failure of the multidisciplinary team. A plan must be put into place in dealing with pain management.

Engwall (2009) defined pain as a "symptom and a warning that something is wrong in an organism” (p 370). Rathmell et al., (2006) maintained that fear of uncontrolled pain can be a traumatic situation for a patient undergoing surgery. Moreover, Pellino, et al (2005) sustained that “pain is a multidimensional experience, consisting of not only physical stimuli but also psychological interpretations of pain” (p. 182). Alleviating peri-operative pain is traditionally achieved with the use of pharmacological interventions. analgesia can incur undesirable side-effects like drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. Controlling the pain by complimenting analgesics with the use of non-pharmacological interventions, might ameliorate patients’ response to pain with fewer resultant side-effects. Thus, the need to evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological measures such as music, relaxation, hypnosis and others is highly solicited in the evolving heath system (Pyati & Gan, 2007).

According to John Hopkins Medicine (n.d.), pain is an uncomfortable feeling that tells you something may be wrong. It can be fixed, throbbing, stabbing, aching, pinching, or described in many other ways. Pain is categorized as either acute or chronic. Acute pain is usually severe and brief, and is often a signal that your body has been injured. Chronic pain can vary from mild to severe and is there for long periods of time (John Hopkins Medicine, n.d). This paper will discuss a scenario that entails which person is experiencing the most pain, how two people can have the same procedure experience different levels of pain, factors that contribute to each person’s pain level, and two complementary/alternative methods of pain control.

Pain management is exceedingly important in order to provide quality and satisfactory care in clinical practice. Hospitalizations are often stressful for patients and families, and most patients in the hospital are in pain due to their health condition because it can affect all body systems. Such stress on the body can exacerbate health conditions and delay the healing process. Pain control and management is crucial in hospital-setting because pain is associated with many other complications for a patient like decreased mobility, increased risk for falls, depression, anxiety, sleep impairment and isolation which contributes to patient safety (Gropelli, 2013). The patient population on the telemetry/oncology/pediatric floor at Resurrection Medical Center is a diverse group that is always changing and presenting with new cases, many with prescribed pain medication. Pain is subjective and many patients receive medication for their pain; but when does a patient start to abuse their pain medication and rely on it. A noticeable problem on the 4S unit is many patients who are prescribed pain medications as needed are dependent of them. Patients know precise times their pain medication is scheduled and demand it around the clock. Using nonpharmacological pain techniques can be an alternative, safe, effective method in managing patients’ pain. Maintaining a staff who understand the advantages and utilize a nonpharmacological pain management plan will benefit the

Moreover, increased knowledge on pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management results in better patient outcomes. Also, these nurses should be given ample time to be able to follow the pain management guidelines to ensure proper pain management. My report aims at analyzing from the relevant peer reviewed articles on nurses ' role in management of post-operative pain and nursing issues relating to management of pain during postoperative period putting my experience in the unit into consideration.