Pain Flashcards
What is the definition of pain?
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.
What is acute pain?
Sudden, sharp pain that lasts less than 6 months
Assessing analgesia effect
When a person presents with pain they should be assessed:
- 15 mins after pain
- 30 mins after analgesia
- 60 mins to reassess or 30 mins then 30 mins
Pain tools
- Numeric rating scale
- Verbal pain score
- PAINAD
- FACES – paediatrics
- Technology – neuroimaging, electrodermal sensors
Measuring pain in non-verbal or intubated patients
- Critical care pain observation tool (CPOT)
- Richmond agitation and sedation scale (RASS)
- Technology – BIS
What is the definition of medication literacy
The ability of a person to obtain, comprehend, communicate, calculate and process information about medicines
Opioid analgesic stewardship in acute pain – quality safety standards
- Patient education and shared decision-making
- Acute pain assessment
- Risk benefit analysis
- Pathways of care (harm mitigation)
- Appropriate opioid analgesia prescribing
- Monitoring and management of adverse effects
- Documentation
- Review of therapy
- Transfer of care (next steps)
Harm reduction in opioid analgesic addiction
- Take home naloxone kits
- Early referral to drug and alcohol services
- Often multiple morbidities requiring MDT response
Types of pain
- Nociceptive
- Activation of normal pain fibres in response to a noxious stimulus (e.g. injury, disease, inflammation), may be somatic or visceral - Neuropathic
- Injury or disease affecting the peripheral or central nervous system or both - Mixed nociceptive/neuropathic (some cancer-related pain)
Functional activity score
A- No limitations due to pain
B- Mild limitations of activity
C- Significant limitations, unable to complete activity due to pain or treatment-related adverse effects
