Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
-
To investigate registered nurses' (RNs') and physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and experiences regarding assessing and managing pain in infants at seven level III neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Sweden. ⋯ RNs in this study reported that their pain assessments did not lead to appropriate pain management interventions. They were thus discouraged from further pain assessments or advocating for ethical pain management. An interprofessional team effort is needed to effectively assess and manage pain in neonates.
-
This was a retrospective chart review of procedural pain assessments and interventions during arterial catheter insertion in an adult neurological intensive care unit where patients with impaired consciousness are common. Overall, pain assessment was well documented (100%) by Registered Nurses, but not specific to arterial line insertion. Nurse practitioners commonly placed arterial lines and used local analgesia in over 75% of the documented procedures. ⋯ The lack of procedural pain assessment in this vulnerable population indicates a need for increased pain management education for clinicians and further investigations to determine whether sufficient analgesia is provided to reduce procedural pain during arterial line insertion.