Nursing Pain Assessment Tool

Question: Discuss about theNursingfor Pain Assessment Tool. Answer: Introduction The aim of the case study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of universal pain assessment tool postoperatively. The objectives of the case study are: To identify one of the indications for cholecystectomy To identify limiting factors of using a pain assessment tool To analyze the significance of using pain assessment tool postoperatively Mrs. Mary is a 60-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of a severe dull abdominal pain which had lasted for 18 hours specifically on the upper right quadrant (RUQ) which is also tender. The pain reportedly started on the epigastrium before localizing and persisting on the current location (RUQ) after having a heavy lunchtime meal in preparation for a long family meeting she was to attend that afternoon. She reported of no vomiting even though she felt nauseated. She also reported to have experienced similar incidents a few months ago, but the pain was not as severe as the current one which was not relieved after taking tramadol medication which she had bought from a local drug store. Her temperature was 38.30C with other vital signs within the normal ranges. She has a white blood cell count of 12000/ mm3. She has a positive past medical history of obesity since five years ago and type 2 diabetes mellitus. She reports to not to have ever und ergone any surgery. After laboratory and radiologic investigations, she was diagnosed with acute cholecystitis and had to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy Universal pain assessment tool was the tool of choice for assessing Mrs. Mary postoperatively. This is a standardized tool that unlike others incorporates various aspect of pain such as intensity, quality and verbal description of pain (Wilder-Smith, Arendt-Nielsen, Yarnitsky Vissers, 2015). It has a numerical rating, facial grimace, verbal descriptive and activity tolerance scales that are used in the assessment. Thus the tool is easy to use and significantly more efficient one in almost all individuals ranging from children to adults. It requires little or no patient teaching by a health care provider on its use and can be useful in instances of language barrier. It has been documented that universal pain assessment tool helps in the evaluating the effectiveness of interventions, documenting the need for alternative or additional interventions and therefore improving patient outcome (Wilder-Smith et al. 2015). However, it has also been noted that the tool is at times subject to mi sinterpretation due to interpretation difficulties of terms used and conceptualization of pain on a scale hence leading to inconsistencies (Turk Melzack, 2011). As stipulated by Pasero and McCaffery (2013), there is also no consistency in rating of pain from one person to another even if they experience the same level of pain. Furthermore, it cant be used single-handedly in pain assessment without individualized further inquiries. References Pasero, C., McCaffery, M. (2013).Pain assessment and pharmacologic management. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier/Mosby. Turk, D. C., Melzack, R. (2011).Handbook of pain assessment. New York: Guilford Press. Wilder-Smith, O. G., Arendt-Nielsen, L., Yarnitsky, D., Vissers, K. P. (2015).Postoperative pain: Science and clinical practice. Philadelphia : Wolters Kluwer Heath