Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
-
To examine the relationship between diet and lifestyle, and chronic widespread pain (CWP). If persons with CWP have dietary and lifestyle habits consistent with an increased risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease, it may partially explain evidence in the literature suggesting an association between CWP and these diseases. ⋯ The findings for smoking, body mass index and (for women) diet offer support for the hypothesis that lifestyle factors may partially explain the association between CWP and cancer or cardiovascular disease. Prospective studies are necessary to confirm this relationship.
-
Several studies have shown that patients often receive inadequate treatment of postoperative pain. The aim of the present descriptive study was to examine and analyze various data related to the postoperative pain assessment of 40 patients who underwent elective surgery. Pain journals were to be completed by patients during every waking hour for the first three postoperative days to assess both pain intensity and pain unpleasantness. ⋯ In addition, when nurses assessed and documented postoperative pain using a numerical scale, their results were very different from patients' assessments. For the first postoperative day, the mean (± SD) pain intensity documented by nurses on a 0 to 10 numerical scale was 1.57±0.23, while the mean pain intensity noted by patients using the same scale was 3.82±0.41. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between mean pain intensity documented by nurses and the mean pain intensity noted by patients.
-
Opioids are the most common source of drug error that leads to harm in pediatric hospitals. ⋯ Future opportunities for improvement in opioid safety should focus on morphine, opioid administration errors in general, the safe disposal of opioids in the hospital environment and the identification of pain as an adverse event.