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Post-operative pain: the impact of prescribing patterns on nurses' administration of analgesia

Joan Simons1, Laurence Moseley

  • 1Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, Thames Valley University.

Paediatric Nursing
|November 5, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Nurses administered 77% of "as required" pain medication, but 88% of regular prescriptions for children post-surgery. Regular pain relief prescriptions increased the likelihood of children receiving analgesia.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • Pain Management
  • Nursing Practice

Background:

  • Significant advancements in pediatric post-operative pain management have been made.
  • Most children receive analgesia after surgery, but administration varies.
  • Factors influencing analgesia administration require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the discrepancy between prescribed and administered post-operative analgesia in children within 24 hours of surgery.
  • To evaluate the impact of 'as required' (pro re nata or PRN) versus regular analgesic prescribing on administration rates.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective chart review of 175 pediatric patients.
  • Data collected from a children's hospital and a large teaching hospital's pediatric unit.
  • Analyzed administration of morphine, codeine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, and paracetamol within 24 hours post-surgery.

Main Results:

  • Analgesic administration decreased in proportion to drug strength.
  • Paracetamol had the highest administration percentage.
  • Regularly prescribed paracetamol was administered 88% of the time, compared to 77% for PRN paracetamol.
  • Regular prescriptions significantly increased the likelihood of children receiving analgesia.

Conclusions:

  • Nurses should be more responsive to pediatric pain and recognize the benefits of PRN analgesic prescribing.
  • Enhancing nurses' confidence in assessing and managing children's pain is crucial.
  • Optimizing post-operative pain management requires attention to prescribing patterns and administration practices.
Abstract

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