title: Assessing pain control in nonverbal critically ill adults.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Odhner
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wegman
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Freeland
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.forename: Gail L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Ingersoll
mesh_terms: 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