Pain Quiz with Explained Answers

A client with chronic pain reports to you, the charge nurse, that the nurse have not been responding to requests for pain medication. What is your initial action? Check the MARs and nurses' notes for the past several days. Ask the nurse educator to give an in-ser- vice about pain management. Perform a complete pain assessment and history on the client. Have a conference with the nurses re- sponsible for the care of this client Family members are encouraging your client to "tough it out" rather than run the risk of becoming addicted to narcotics. The client is stoically abiding by the family's wishes. Priority nursing interventions for this client should target which dimen- sion of pain? Sensory Affective Sociocultural Behavioral Cognitive A client with diabetic neuropathy re- ports a burning, electrical-type in the low- er extremities that is not responding to NSAIDs. You anticipate that the physi- cian will order which adjuvant medication for this type of pain? Amitriptyline (Elavil) Corticosteroids Methylphenidate (Ritalin) Lorazepam (Ativan) Have a conference with the nurses re- sponsible for the care of this client As charge nurse, you must assess for the performance and attitude of the staff in relation to this client. After gathering data from the nurses, additional information from the records and the client can be obtained as necessary. The educator may be of assistance if knowledge deficit or need for performance improvement is the problem. Sociocultural The family is part of the sociocultural dimension of pain. They are influencing the client and should be included in the teaching sessions about the appropriate use of narcotics and about the adverse effects of pain on the healing process. The other dimensions should be includ- ed to help the client/family understand overall treatment plan and pain mecha- nism Amitriptyline (Elavil) Antidepressants such as amitriptyline can be given for diabetic neuropathy. Corticosteroids are for pain associat- ed with inflammation. Methylphenidate is given to counteract sedation if the client is on opioids. Lorazepam is an anxiolytic. A client with progressive pancreatic can- cer Cancer pain generally worsens with dis-