Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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The objective of this review was to examine the effects of nursing education interventions on clinical outcomes for acute pain management in hospital settings, relating interventions to health care behavior change theory. Three databases were searched for nursing education interventions from 2002 to 2015 in acute hospital settings with clinical outcomes reported. Methodological quality was rated as strong, moderate, or weak using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for quantitative studies. ⋯ Eight of the 12 studies investigated nursing documentation of pain assessment as the main outcome, with the majority reporting positive effects of education interventions on nursing pain assessment. Of the remaining studies, two reported mixed findings on patient self-report of pain scores as the key measure, one reported improvements in patient satisfaction with pain management after a nursing intervention, and one study found an increase in nurses' delivery of a relaxation treatment following an intervention. Improvements in design and evaluation of nursing education interventions are suggested, drawing on behavior change theory and emphasizing the relational, contextual, and emotionally demanding nature of nursing pain management in hospital settings.
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Providing effective pain management is necessary for all patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Because of developmental considerations, caring for children may provide additional challenges. The purpose of this literature review is to describe key challenges in providing effective pain management in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), with the aim of bringing about a better understanding by health care providers caring for children. ⋯ In the treatment level (level three), nonpharmacological interventions factors; alterations in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of medications to be used for pain management in critically ill children; and the complexity of the administration of sedatives, analgesics, and paralytic agents in critically ill children are the main challenges. Health care providers can bear in mind such important challenges in order to provide effective pain management. Health care providers can increase the use of available evidence for pain management.
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Review
Central Sensitization in Functional Chronic Pain Syndromes: Overview and Clinical Application.
The purpose of this review and clinical application article is to offer nurses up-to-date knowledge on peripheral and central sensitization in chronic functional pain syndromes, and to discuss therapies that have shown efficacy in treating various aspects of these disorders. Central sensitization is a result of changes in the peripheral and central nervous system due to noxious stimuli, such as illness or trauma. ⋯ More research needs to be conducted on the basis and patient perception of functional pain syndromes to reduce the morbidity and significant disability associated with these illnesses. Nurses have the opportunity to be at the forefront of this research because of their holistic and multidimensional approach to patient care, assessment, and symptom management.
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Sedation practices in the critical care unit have been trending toward lighter sedation since the start of the new millennium, but patients continue to experience inadequate pain management and excessive sedation. This paper includes a brief examination of the problem of pain management in the ICU; trends in sedation practices, including light sedation and the daily interruption of sedation; and a literature review of analgosedation. While the analgosedation literature is relatively sparse, it offers a promising, patient-centered method for managing the triad of pain, agitation, and delirium, while reducing common complications associated with long-term ventilation. This paper concludes with a recommended method for analgosedation, the nursing implications, and a discussion of limitations and recommendations.
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It has been shown that over 70% of patients waiting in emergency departments (EDs) do not receive analgesics, despite the fact that more than 78% complain of pain. A clinical innovation in the form of a pain management protocol that includes task-shifting has been implemented in the ED of a university hospital in Switzerland in order to improve pain-related outcomes in patients. This innovation involves a change in clinical practice for physicians and nurses. ⋯ They were asked to complete a questionnaire comprising 56 statements based on Rogers's "Diffusion of Innovation" theory. Nurses' opinions (on a 1-10 Likert scale) indicate that the new protocol benefits the ED (mean [M] = 7.4, standard deviation [SD] = 1.21), is compatible with nursing roles (M = 8.0, SD = 1.9), is not too complicated to apply (M = 2.7, SD = 1.7), provides observable positive effects in patients (M = 7.0, SD = 1.28), and is relatively easy to introduce into daily practice (M = 6.5, SD = 1.0). Further studies are now needed to examine patients' experiences of this innovation.