Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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Postoperative pain is a major concern of patients undergoing surgery. Pain assessment for patients undergoing surgery is a common requirement for surgical nurses and is the most important nursing approach to ensuring patient comfort. ⋯ These findings have the potential to lead to a diverse range of nursing education modalities related to the adoption of different focuses and actions in postoperative pain assessment.
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The relationship between pain and mortality risk has not been well established. ⋯ The present study suggested that inpatients admitted with a chief complaint of pain might have a significantly lower risk of in-hospital mortality compared with those admitted without a chief complaint of pain.
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Despite the long-term consequences of poorly controlled postoperative pain, inadequate pain control remains a problem. ⋯ The availability of multimodal analgesia was high following the introduction of electronic prescribing. However, gaps remain in the administration of both fixed and 'as needed' analgesics for postoperative patients. Findings suggested that allowing patients to self-administer analgesia may increase compliance with fixed schedule prescriptions.
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Attention to factors that may affect patients' ability to experience enhanced recovery after surgery is essential in planning for postoperative care. ⋯ "Traditional" predictors had little effect on patients' postoperative physical recovery, while associations with common postoperative symptoms were shown. Further research is needed to explore additional variables affecting early physical recovery and to understand how soon patients are physically ready to return home.
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To investigate registered nurses' (RNs') and physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and experiences regarding assessing and managing pain in infants at seven level III neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Sweden. ⋯ RNs in this study reported that their pain assessments did not lead to appropriate pain management interventions. They were thus discouraged from further pain assessments or advocating for ethical pain management. An interprofessional team effort is needed to effectively assess and manage pain in neonates.