Treatment of pain for older hip fracture patients across settings.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the treatment of pain following hip fracture across settings (hospital to nursing home or rehabilitation facility).


METHODS
This was a secondary data analysis of two survey design studies that collected data on hip fracture patients in the hospital and for posthospital days at an institutional setting.


METHODS
115 subjects, 65 years or older, who had undergone surgical treatment of a hip fracture.


METHODS
Medical records were reviewed to compare the amount of pain medication administered to postoperative hip fracture elders during the last 24 hours in the hospital with that of the first 24 hours in the nursing home (NH).


RESULTS
The mean length of stay following surgery was 4.8 days. Subjects received significantly less medication during the first 24 hours in the NH as compared with the last 24 hours of hospitalization. Over one third (37.4%) of the subjects received no opioid analgesic and 18.3% (n = 21) received no analgesic of any kind during the first 24 hours of NH stay.


CONCLUSIONS
Rather than simply listing medications orders, hospital nursing staff should communicate type, amount, frequency and efficacy of pain medication in transfer notes to nursing home staff. Nursing home staff would benefit from postoperative pain management education.
Feldt
Karen S
KS
School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Gunderson
Joan
J
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017749:Total Quality Management; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000700:Analgesics