The unpleasant sensation of pain that the patient may experience is highly subjective. Pain is defined as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional induced conformational with actual or potential tissue damage, or characterized in terms of such damage” by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). Margo Mccoy, a nurse expert on pain, defined pain as ” whatever the person can say it is and exists when the person says it does,” which is a tremendous and influential definition.
Acute pain serves a protective function by informing and educating the patient about the existence of an injury or illness. The unexpected initiation of acute pain prompts the physician to seek assistance, support, and relief. It is for less than six months. The biological signs of acute pain result from the body’s stress response to pain.
Other factors that could contribute to acute pain include the patient’s ethnic heritage, emotions, and mental or spiritual distress. Pain assessment in older patients can be complex due to cognitive impairment and sensory-perceptual deficits. The primary goal of this care plan is to assess and manage the registered nurse’s diagnosis of acute pain.
Acute vs. chronic pain
Let’s first discuss what is acute pain. Acute pain usually appears suddenly and is caused by a specific event. It is of high quality. Acute pain usually lasts no more than six months. It goes away when the underlying cause of the pain is no longer present. Acute pain can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Surgery
- Bone fractures
- Dental care.
- Any cuts or burns.
- Childbirth and labor
Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists for more than six months. This pain can last long after the illness or injury that caused it has healed or disappeared. Pain signals can last for weeks, months, or even years in the nervous system. Some people experience chronic pain sometimes when there has been no previous injury or visible body damage. Chronic pain is associated with the following conditions:
- Headache
- Arthritis
- Cancer
- Fibromyalgia,
- Nerve pain,
- Back pain
When you have chronic pain, stress affects your body, causing physical conditions such as:
- Muscle tension
- Restrictions on mobility.
- An absence of energy.
- Appetite changes
Chronic pain also has emotional consequences, which include:
- Depression
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Concern about re-injury. This fear may make it difficult for you to return to your job or leisure activities.
Common acute pain signs and symptoms
The following are the most common symptoms of different types of acute pain. Use these positivist and interpretivist data to assist you in navigating the nursing assessment. Alternatively, you can consult the areas. In addition, for acute pain in the sections that follow:
- The most common symptom of acute pain is when the patient complains about it. It is the most common primary complaint that brings clients to their doctors.
- Intensity self-reporting using normalized pain severity scales (e.g., Wong-Baker FACES scale, visual analog scale, numeric rating scale)
- Using standardized pain scales, self-report of anguish characteristics (e.g., aching, incinerating, electric shock, pins, and needles, shooting, sore/tender, trying to stab, throbbing) (e.g., McGill Pain Questionnaire, Brief Pain Inventory)
- Other symptoms of pain include:
- Protective behavior or guarding the body part
- Pain-related facial expressions (e.g., grimaces) (e.g., restlessness, crying, moaning)
- Autonomic pain response:
- Excessive sweating
- Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate
- Pupil dilation
Acute pain patient objectives
The common skilled nursing planning goals and intended results for Acute Pain are as follows:
- The patient uses appropriate recreation activities and stress relief skills.
- The patient describes adequate pain medication at a tier (for example, less than 3 to 4 on a rating scale of 0 to 10)
- The patient exhibits improved well-being, evidenced by baseline pulse, blood pressure, respiration, and laid-back muscle tone or torso posture.
- The patient employs both nonpharmacological and pharmacological pain-relief techniques.
- The patient’s mood and coping abilities have improved.
Acute pain nursing care plans related
Acute pain nursing diagnosis diseases, medical conditions, and nursing care plans:
- Brain Tumor
- Fracture
- Hypertension
- Tonsillitis
- Surgery (Perioperative Client)
Nursing assessment for different types of acute pain
An accurate nursing assessment of acute pain is required to implement an appropriate pain management plan. Nurses play an essential role in pain assessment; they use the following techniques to assess acute pain:
- Conduct a thorough pain assessment. Assess the location, characteristics, emergence, duration, regularity, quality, and severity of pain.
The patient in pain is the most trustworthy source of data about their pain. They can show you their pain’s location, severity, and duration, and their self-report is the holy grail in pain assessment. Thus, assessing pain through an interview assists the nurse in developing optimal ways to manage pain. Alternatively, you can use the registered nurse mnemonic “PQRST” to help you assess pain:
- Triggers: “What makes your pain worse or better?”
- Characteristic: “Tell me exactly what it’s like.” Is it a sharp, throbbing, dull, stabbing, or another type of pain?”
- Location (region): “Show me where your pain is.”
- Severity: Ask your pain to rate your pain using various pain intensity methodologies (e.g., Pain scale of 1-10, Wong-Baker Faces Scale).
- Transitory (onset, duration, frequency): “Is it constant, or does it come and go?”
- Determine the source of the pain by asking the patient to point to the area that is bothering them.
The patient can benefit from using charts or drawings of the body while the nurse determines new pain locations. When working with clients with a limited vocabulary, asking to pinpoint the location can help clarify your pain assessment; this is especially important when working with children.
- Conduct a pain history assessment
Additionally, during the pain assessment, the nurse should ask the following questions to determine the history of the pain: (1) previous pain treatment or management effectiveness; (2) what medications were begun taking and when; (3) other meds being taken; (4) medication allergies or known side effects
- Determine the client’s pain perception
Allow the client to convey in their own words how those who view the pain and the situation when taking a pain history develop a better understanding of what pain means to the client. You can ask, “What does having the above pain mean to you?” or “Can you describe how this pain affects you specifically?”
- Pain should be assessed at the same time as vital signs
Many healthcare facilities consider pain assessment the “fifth vital sign,” which should be included in routine vital sign assessments.
What is the acute pain treatment process
Nurses are not to determine whether or not acute pain is real. As nurses, we should devote more time to patient care. The treatment plans for your acute pain care plan are as follows:
1. Provide pain relief measures before they become severe
It is preferable to administer an analgesic before pain begins or becomes severe, as a higher dose may be required. One example is preemptive analgesia, which is the administration of analgesics prior to surgery to reduce or relieve pain after surgery. The proactive approach is also beneficial before painful procedures such as wound dressing changes, physiotherapy, postural drainage, etc.
2. Recognize and accept the client’s pain
Nurses must ask their patients about their pain and believe their complaints. You create an unhealthy therapeutic alliance that can impede pain treatment and deteriorates rapport by challenging or trying to undermine their pain reports.
3. Provide non – pharmacologic pain relief
Physical, learning skills and lifestyle pain management are examples of nonpharmacologic pain management methods.
This technique involves focusing one’s attention on non-painful stimuli to reduce one’s consciousness and experience of pain. Drawing the person’s attention away from the pain reduces their perception of it. Some examples are reading, watching Television, playing video games, and guided imagery.
4. Administer pharmacologic pain treatment as directed
Opioids (narcotics), nonopioids (NSAIDs), and coanalgesic drugs are used to manage pain using pharmacologic methods.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines for the logical use of analgesics in cancer treatment using a three-step ladder approach, also known as the analgesic ladder. The pain relief ladder focuses on matching the appropriate analgesics to the severity of the pain.
- Step 1: The WHO analgesic ladder recommends nonopioid analgesics with or without analgesics for mild pain (1 to 3 pain rating). If the pain persists or worsens despite total doses, move on to the next step.
- Step 2: Opioid or a mixture of opioids required and desired is administered even without conanalgesics for moderate pain (4 to 6 pain rating).
- Step 3: If the pain is severe (7 to 10), the opioid is administrated and titrated in Air traffic control scheduled doses till the pain is relieved.
5. Use a multimodal approach to manage acute pain
A multimodal approach relies on using two or more distinct methods or drugs to improve pain relief (rather than resorting to opioid use or other pain management strategies alone). Various combinations of opioid analgesics, active ingredients, and procedures can have additive or synergistic impacts on multiple sites and pathways. Combining meds and techniques allows for administering the lowest effective dose of each drug, resulting in fewer side effects.
6. Administer analgesia before painful procedures
This will aid in preventing pain caused by comparatively painful procedures (e.g., wound care, venipunctures, chest tube removal, endotracheal suctioning, etc.).
7. Provide nursing care during the peak analgesic effect
Oral analgesics typically peak in 60 minutes, while intravenous anesthetics reach their peak in 20 minutes. Nursing tasks performed during the peak effect of analgesics improve client comfort and care compliance.
8. Assess the efficacy of analgesics as prescribed and look for signs and symptoms of adverse effects
Pain medicine must be evaluated individually for each patient because they are absorbed and hydrolyzed differently.
Final remarks
Acute pain is the most common type of pain. It is usually associated with minor illnesses, such as cuts and sprains, trauma from a severe accident, or major surgery. Acute pain appears suddenly and usually subsides as you heal.
Minor acute pain is easily treated with over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, as well as physical therapy, exercise, or treatment options. Acute pain caused by trauma or significant surgery may necessitate stronger medications or more intensive treatments.
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