Question

As a nurse what are the three baseline assessmens you should obtain prior to the administration of pain medication?

Answer 1

Proper pain relief in any setting continues to be a major goal but is often elusive. It is incumbent upon the nurse to understand the principles of pain management and to understand and assess for adverse effects of pain-relieving therapies, especially pharmacologic therapies.

So nurse should do baseline assessment before giving analgesic to the patient that is-

1. Obtain baseline vital sign of the patient before giving analgesic.

2. Assess the level of the pain, intensity of the pain, site of the pain of the patient.

Patients’ self-reporting (expression) of their pain is regarded as the gold standard of pain assessment measurement as it provides the most valid measurement of pain.

Pain can be assessed by various pain scale such as-

A. Visual analogue scale.

B. Verbal rating scale.

C. Numerical rating scale

D. Graphic rating scale

E. Verbal descriptor scale

3. Assessment of functional and the medical problems should consider-

* Symptoms associated with the pain, for example, nausea. This can help to identify an underlying cause for pain and also identify the need for symptom management.
* Effect of pain on activities, for example, mobility, sleep.
* Medications/treatments and their effect on pain.
* Medical and drug history.
* Family history.
* Psychosocial assessment, for example, anxiety, coping skills, occupation.
* Physical examination.
* Evaluation of disability associated with the pain.

WHO developed a 3 step analgesic ladder to guide management of cancer pain.