Articles: pain-measurement.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 2016
Multicenter StudyCurrent Use of Pain Scores in Dutch Intensive Care Units: A Postal Survey in the Netherlands.
Pain is a common problem for critically ill patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) and can have serious consequences. For this reason, the appropriate recognition and treatment of pain is of extreme importance. However, pain assessment in critically ill patients can be challenging because these patients are often unable to self-report. To identify attitudes and practices regarding the assessment and management of pain in ICU patients unable to self-report, we surveyed all adult ICUs in the Netherlands. ⋯ In the Netherlands, most ICUs used a standardized pain score in patients able to self-report. Nonteaching hospitals used pain assessment tools more often than teaching hospitals. In patients unable to self-report, pain is not routinely measured with a validated behavioral pain assessment tool. Almost all nurses in our survey felt that their assessment of patient pain was more accurate than behavioral pain assessment tools in patients unable to self-report. More research is needed to identify factors preventing more widespread acceptance of validated behavioral pain scores in patients unable to self-report.
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Comparative Study
Topographical pressure pain sensitivity maps of the shoulder region in individuals with subacromial pain syndrome.
Topographical pain maps (TPM) are useful tools to assess deep tissue sensitivity in musculoskeletal pain conditions. There is evidence suggesting bilateral sensitivity in subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS), although it is not widely accepted. No previous study has investigated TPM of the shoulder in SAPS. ⋯ This study revealed no differences for mechanical pain sensitivity in patients with SAPS experiencing lower levels of pain compared with matched controls, but showed heterogeneous distribution of PPTs in the shoulder.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Assessment of Adults Experiencing Chronic Non-Cancer Pain: A Randomized Trial of Group Versus Individual Format at an Australian Tertiary Pain Service.
To compare the outcomes of a new group assessment format with conventional individual assessment. ⋯ Group assessment provides a viable alternative to conventional individual assessment. The group assessment reduced wait-times while delivering otherwise comparable outcomes.
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Support Care Cancer · Feb 2016
ReviewBreakthrough pain and its treatment: critical review and recommendations of IOPS (Italian Oncologic Pain Survey) expert group.
Controversies exist about the definition and epidemiology of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP), the pharmacological treatment options, drug dosing, and how to select the medications for BTcP among the new fentanyl products. Existing data were critically evaluated to provide recommendations by an expert group. ⋯ The doses of opioids used for background pain should guide the choice of the doses of fentanyl products. The choice of fentanyl products should be based on individual clinical conditions.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Feb 2016
ReviewTime to analgesia and pain score documentation best practice standards for the Emergency Department - A literature review.
Emergency Department pain management is an often overlooked aspect of acute care and is of paramount importance. Patients are often forced to wait extended periods of time without pain assessment or being offered analgesia for their painful condition. This has been associated with poor psychological and physiological consequences both for the health system and the patient. This is suggestive of a lack of clarity around best practice standards for time to analgesia and pain score documentation in the ED. ⋯ Whilst there is an abundance of evidence available on the current practice and challenges of quality acute pain management in the ED, there is a lack of well-controlled studies on best practice standards for health care services to benchmark their practice and improve. Mandating pain score reporting, pain assessment and reassessment within specific timeframes and analgesia administration within 30 min of arrival is highly recommended. The implementation of nurse led analgesia protocols should be encouraged to increase incidence of documented pain assessment and reduce time to analgesia.