Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Pain assessment and management are essential components of the nursing practice.
According to the Italian L. 42. 2006, L. 38. 2010, Art.12, 13 of the “Codice Deontologico Infermieri” and to “Comitato Ospedale Senza Dolore”, nursing consultancy we can go with in Città della Salute e della Scienza hospital in Turin, Molinette unit. We offer specialized counselling on pain management to ward nurses and patients in other departments. This allows pain therapists to maintain continuity of care for patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Whenever a ward make a request, a pain therapist performs an initial consultation to decide the course of treatment and, if necessary, activates the nursing consultancy team. From then on, specialized nurses cooperate with the ward team to take care of the patient: the team carry out a multi-professional and multidisciplinary activity, with a direct involvement of the patient in the management of pain and the healing process.
Multiple data about patients have been collected and organised in a database, including ward, diagnosis, BPI for pain measurement, pain assessment before and after intervention, applied therapies, patient’s response, pain relief, reduction in patient’s activity, pain related disability, adverse effects from pain interventions (pharmacologic and non pharmacologic), pain neuroscience education, unexpected outcomes, related interventions and ongoing therapy with any subsequent variations.
RESULTS
94 patients have been evaluated from April 2022. 70% of patients had neoplastic pain, 20% had post-surgical pain and 10% had vascular-type post-surgical pain.
Mostly 3 to 5 nurse visits were been performed in 15 days to have good pain control with an NRS between 0 and 3 and a satisfactory BPI. When the pain therapy nurses identify a lack of experience among healthcare professionals, they provide support and training in order to improve the best practices of pain relief interventions for patients.
CONCLUSIONS
The outcomes suggest that it is worth investing in this organizational approach to meet the needs and reach the optimal pain relief. Patients receive pain relief and are followed up on treatment.
Well-designed observational and experimental studies should be carried out in order to develop and test different reliable measures of pain management.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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