Pain Management Part 1 Flashcards
What are your 5 vital signs?
Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure, Temperature, & Pain
This is whatever the patient says it is =
Pain
What kind’s of pt’s will you need to monitor for pain by assessing for things like Facial Grimacing + Guarding and by monitoring their vitals?
People who are Dementia pt’s, Mentally Disabled, Children (With an undeveloped sense of talking), have Communication Challenges (Expressive Aphasia, Comatose, On Ventilators)
How do you know which pain scale to give a patient?
It depends on their age and their condition
What are things that you would document about pain?
You’d document their description of the pain, any objective assessments that you see (Hypertension, Diaphoresis, and any Behavioral Responses such as Guarding, Restlessness, Facial Grimacing)
What is the definition of Pain?
An unpleasant, subjective sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
Can pain be an emotional experience?
Yup
Is pain subjective, objective, or both?
Subjective
What are things that pain may affect?
Ability to perform ADL’s.
Participate in Activities.
Work.
Sleep.
Undertreatment of pain is a serious healthcare problem that cause what kinds of issues for pt’s?
Psychological and Physiological
The family encourages the client to “tough out the pain” rather than risk drug addiction. The client is stoic and does what the family says. The nurse recognizes that the cultural dimension of pain is a priority for this client.
Which question does the nurse ask?
A.) “Where is the pain located and does it radiate to other parts of your body?”
B.) “How would you describe the pain and how is it affecting you?”
C.) “What do you believe about the use of pain medication?”
D.) “What information do you need about pain, healing, and addiction?”
C
What separates the different categories of factors that cause pain?
The Biopsychosocial Model of Pain
What are the different factors that form pain?
Biological Factors, Social Factors, Psychological Factors
List some Psychological Factors that form pain:
Mood/Affect
Catastrophizing
Stress
Coping
List some Biological Factors that form pain:
Disease Severity
Nociception
Inflammation
Brain Function
List some Social Factors that cause pain:
Cultural Factors
Social Environment
Economic Factors
Social Support
What can cause an increased sensitivity to pain?
Fatigue
What can cause an increase OR decrease to pain tolerance?
Genetics
Impairment of cognitive functioning may leave the pt unable to-
Express pain or to express it clearly
What can increase or decrease a pt’s pain sensitivity?
Their past experiences (It all comes down to when or if their pain was relieved and what actions were took to decrease it)
Anxiety & Fear can-
Increase Pain Sensitivity
What non-drug things can decrease pain sensitivity?
Support Systems & Coping Styles
What influences how a pt expresses pain and how they define pain?
Their Cultural Factors
A post-op pt expresses concern about discharge and has nowhere to live. How does the Biopsychosocial Model of Pain (particularly the Social Factors) contribute to the pt’s pain?
This person doesn’t have a place to live, so they likely don’t have anyone to support for them or have a support system. This can increase the pt’s anxiety and their pain perception.
The pt may also not have a job, have poor or no insurance, have no ability to forward supplies, have no access to further therapies.
All of these concerns can increase the pt’s pain level + their response to stimuli.
How should a nurse prioritize their responsibilities for a pt in pain?
Measure their pain level continuously.
Provide individualized interventions.
Reassess the pain after giving pain meds.
Analgesics =
Pain Meds
How long after giving Analgesics should you reassess a pt’s pain level?
10 - 60 mins
What are the types of pain management?
Pharmacological
Nonpharmacological
Invasive Therapies
What are invasive therapies used for?
Intractable Pain
What can cause intractable pain?
Cancer
This is when a painful physical or chemical stimulus is transformed into a signal that can be carried (via transmission) to the CNS and be perceived as pain =
Transduction
The process of communication between neurons =
Transmission
The point at which a stimulus causes the client perceive pain =
Pain Threshold
How much of a stimulus the client is willing to accept =
Pain Tolerance
The Perception / Awareness of Pain can be called-
Nociception
Neurons originating in the brainstem descend to the spinal cord and release substances that inhibit nociceptive impulses =
Modulation
What are pain mechanisms called?
Nociceptive
The physiologic phases of how info about tissue damage is relayed to the CNS =
Nociception
When does Nociception occur?
From the point of first getting tissue damage to the point of feeling the pain from that damage
What chemicals activate Nociceptors, increase Transduction, and lead to a generation of action potential (Pain Signals)?
Prostaglandins
Bradykinin
Substance P
Histamine
What chemicals decrease pain transmission and produce analgesia?
Serotonin
Endorphins
What’s one substance released during Modulation that can inhibit nociceptive impulses =
Endogenous Opioids
What does the process of Modulation do to pain?
Lowers it a little
How many phases of Nociception are there?
4
What activates pain receptors?
Noxious Stimuli
What types of Noxious Stimuli are there?
Chemical, Thermal, and Mechanical
What occurs during the first phase of Nociception?
Substances are released (Prostaglandins, Histamine, and Serotonin).
Nociceptors are activated.
What is the first phase of Nociception called?
Transduction
What is a Noxious Stimuli?
A stimulus that is actually, or potentially, damaging to tissue and liable to cause pain, but does not invariably do so
Specialized nerve endings that detect painful stimuli =
Nociceptors