Assessing pain control in nonverbal critically ill adults.
The accurate assessment of pain in nonverbal patients is difficult, with nurses often relying on a variety of methods to determine medication impact. Much of the evidence to date suggests that commonly used indicators of pain may not effectively measure the true extent of distress in patients unable to verbalize their level of discomfort. A recent pilot study of an existing and newly developed pain assessment scale reinforces this concern.
Odhner
Margaret
M
Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York, USA.
Wegman
Deborah
D
Freeland
Nancy
N
Steinmetz
Ann
A
Ingersoll
Gail L
GL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects