Recording acute pain in hospitalized patients

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Nurses are in a good position to carry out pain assessment and management, as well as to perform pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The aim of this study was to compare hospital pain records in hospitalized patients with pain reports from a previous study and to analyze the presence of the “Acute Pain” Nursing Diagnosis and the Nursing Interventions prescribed for pain management.

METHODS:

Cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection. As a criteria for sample selection, the pain report referred to in a previous study interview was used. The medical records were analyzed in order to verify the registries of acute pain intensity, presence of the “Acute Pain” Nursing Diagnosis and nursing interventions prescribed for adult hospitalized patients.

RESULTS:

The sample of the present study consisted of 63 adult patients, with a mean hospital stay of 12 days. There was a disparity between medical records and pain data collected previously, indicating pain underreporting. The “Acute Pain” Nursing Diagnosis was identified in 60.3% of cases and Nursing Interventions were based on pharmacological pain relief (36.5%).

CONCLUSION:

The information in the hospital’s medical records did not reflect the pain reports observed in a previous study. There was underreporting of pain and the Nursing Interventions listed by nurses privileged the assessment and pharmacological treatment of pain. These findings suggest the need for continuous training of the Nursing Team with an emphasis on non-pharmacological pain assessment and management.

Keywords:
Acute pain; Health services; Nursing; Nursing diagnosis; Pain management