title: Effects of preoperative teaching of the use of a pain scale with patients in the PACU.
abstract: Clinical observations have shown that patients arriving in the PACU who had no experience using a pain scale had more difficulty rating their pain in the immediate postoperative period. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if preoperative instruction on the use of a pain scale would improve the patient's ability to self-report pain in the Phase I PACU. The sample consisted of 50 English speaking, orthopedic patients between the ages of 19 and 75 years. A visual numerical rating scale (NRS) for pain was used to teach patients in the holding area. Twenty-six of these patients had previous experience with the NRS and 24 had no experience. Of those with experience, 21 (80%) could use the pain scale in the PACU. Of the 24 patients who were taught in the holding area, 20 (85%) could use the pain scale to rate their pain in the PACU. The results of this study suggest that if patients have previous experience with a pain scale, or if they are taught preoperatively, they can more effectively self-report pain postoperatively. Future studies should be conducted to involve a larger sample, a variety of surgeries, and non-English-speaking patients.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Charleston, SC, USA. Lbond007@aol.com
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bond
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flickinger
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aytes
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bateman
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chalk
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aysse
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D016528:Postanesthesia Nursing; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014481:United States