Patient management of pain medication after cardiac surgery

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a personal control intervention in the form of self-administered versus nurse-administered pain medication after cardiac surgery, and its interaction with patients' desire for control, patients' perception of pain intensity, disruption in daily activities, emotional responses, and use of pain medication over time. Subjects were 64 adults undergoing coronary artery bypass or valve replacement surgery. Instruments included the Krantz Health Opinion Survey; a 7-point measure of discomfort scale to assess pain intensity, disruption in daily activities due to pain, and emotional upset due to pain; a shortened form of the Sickness Impact Profile; and the Bi-polar Profile of Mood States. No main effects were found between experimental and control groups on any of the dependent measures nor were interaction effects found between individuals' measured desire for control and the personal control intervention. A time by group interaction was found in reports of pain intensity, p less than .05, with subjects in the experimental group reporting higher levels of pain intensity than subjects in the control group in the early postoperative period.