Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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The rapidly expanding number of aged Americans and the increasing prevalence of persistent pain in older adults create an urgent need to unravel the complexities of chronic pain management in this population. This requires health professionals to understand both normal and pathologic changes that occur within the aging body and mind, as well as how those factors affect responses to pain and pain-relieving treatments. The medical management of pharmacologic treatment for pain in older adults is often suboptimal, ranging from failing to use analgesics for patients with considerable pain to exposing older adults to potentially life-threatening toxicities, overdoses, or drug interactions. ⋯ Older adults tend to be more vulnerable to side effects and drug interactions than their younger counterparts, owing to differences in drug distribution, metabolism, and elimination. This review delineates these vulnerabilities and informs clinicians of the strategies needed to promote safe and effective use of medications to treat pain in older adults. The goal of this paper was to review specific considerations for balancing efficacy and safety in the pharmacologic treatment of persistent pain in older adults.
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Chronic/persistent pain places a significant burden on patients, the health care system, and society, because it is associated with substantial personal suffering, lost productivity, and health care costs. Along with its significant socioeconomic impact, chronic/persistent pain can also alter normal sleep patterns in patients, which in turn may affect multiple aspects of daily life, such as interference with social relationships, diminished cognitive functions, interference with daily activities, and increased levels of anxiety and depression. ⋯ An optimal treatment for the management of chronic/persistent pain should provide continuous around-the-clock pain control and subsequently improve sleep, thereby improving health-related quality of life in many patients. This article focuses on the disruptions in sleep that are commonly seen in patients with chronic/persistent pain, and their utility as a measure of effective pain management in clinical studies evaluating pharmacologic approaches to chronic pain management.
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Patient safety related to medication infusion devices has received considerable attention recently. Critical adverse patient outcomes have resulted from misprogrammed delivery devices, inherent flaws in device design, and human error. A key strategy to improving patient safety is the development of an interdisciplinary team in product selection and the inclusion of registered nurses in the process. ⋯ No formal product selection guidelines exist which consider patient safety. This article outlines the process undertaken at University Health Network in the selection of its most recent patient-controlled analgesia device. Various available products were excluded from the selection process based on the interdisciplinary review.
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The current trend of treating chronic nonmalignant pain with opioid therapy means that pain management nurses are increasingly involved in the care of patients who are prescribed and using potent opioid analgesics on a daily basis. Although demonstrated to be quite effective in certain patients, sanctioned access to these medications brings with it risks for abuse, addiction, and diversion. ⋯ It is emphasized that the results of urine toxicology analysis should never be used in isolation to identify abuse, addiction, or diversion, and that patterns of medication and other drug use should always be evaluated with respect to evidence of improved functionality. Nurses involved in the care of patients with chronic pain are encouraged to consider urine toxicology analysis as an integral component in care plan for those on chronic opioid therapy, and to knowledgeably implement and interpret this powerful tool in the practice of pain care.
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Opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia are conditions that negatively affect pain management. Tolerance is defined as a state of adaptation in which exposure to a drug induces changes that result in a decrease of the drug's effects over time. Opioid-induced hyperalgesia occurs when prolonged administration of opioids results in a paradoxic increase in atypical pain that appears to be unrelated to the original nociceptive stimulus. ⋯ Pain facilitatory mechanisms in the central nervous system are known to contribute to opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Recent research indicates that there may be overlap in the two conditions. This article reviews known and hypothesized pathophysiologic mechanisms surrounding these phenomena and the clinical implications for pain management nurses.