Nursing Care of the Client with Pain

Vocabulary flashcards generated from Nursing 155 lecture notes covering pain definitions, assessment tools, non-opioid and opioid analgesics, side effects, and nursing considerations.

Pain (McCaffery, 1999)

Defined as "Whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever she/he says it does."

Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale

A pain assessment tool using facial expressions ranging from 0 (NO HURT) to 10 (HURTS WORST), used to interpret pain when a patient cannot communicate pain intensity.

Acetaminophen Toxicity Risks

Non-opioid analgesic associated with liver and renal toxicity.

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) Age Contraindication

A non-opioid analgesic contraindicated for children under the age of 12.

Opioid Analgesic Side Effects

Adverse effects including respiratory depression, nausea and vomiting, constipation, pruritus, and urinary retention.

Codeine Side Effects

Side effects include dysphoria, nausea, and constipation.

MS Contin Administration Rule

A formulation of morphine that should not be crushed, cut, or chewed.

Hydromorphone

An opioid used for moderate to severe pain primarily via IV due to a lack of controlled release formulations.

Meperidine

An opioid for moderate to severe pain used in the presence of postoperative shivering.

Fentanyl Transdermal Patch

Available in patch sizes of 12, 5, 25, 50, 75, and 100\,mcg with a duration of action of 72\,hr.

Narcotic Usual Duration of Action

Usual duration of action is 4\,hr for oral formulations, with IV having a shorter duration.

Naloxone Administration Method

Administered incrementally to improve respiratory function but not reverse all analgesia, avoiding recurrence of severe pain.

Tolerance

The need for increasing doses of opioids to achieve the same therapeutic effect; an expected and normal consequence of opioids.

Addiction

A behavioral pattern of substance use characterized by a compulsion to take the substance; occurs very rarely.

Adjuvant Analgesics

Medication categories including antidepressants (such as Amitriptyline) and anticonvulsants or antiepileptics (such as Gabapentin).