Table 2 Nursing knowledge about pain management of critically ill patients
Asked questionsb | True n (%)a | False n (%)a | I don’t know n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
1. Vital signs are always reliable indicators of the intensity of pain in a patient | 121(63.4) | 59(30.9) | 11(5.8) |
2. Important to assess pain among patients with Glasgow coma Scale > 8 | 145(75.9) | 31(16.2) | 15(7.9) |
3. Patients who can be distracted from pain usually do not have severe pain | 118(61.8) | 56(29.3) | 17(8.9) |
4. Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents are ineffective in treating pain in the ICU | 93(48.7) | 69(36.1) | 29(15.2) |
5. Respiratory depression rarely occurs in patients who have received stable doses of opioids over months | 97 (50.8) | 50 (26.2) | 44 (23) |
6. Combining analgesics that work by different mechanisms (for example, combining an opioid with an NSAID) may result in better pain control with fewer side effects than using a single analgesic agent | 115 (60.2) | 33 (17.3) | 43 (22.5) |
7. The usual duration of analgesia of 1 to 2 mg of morphine IV is 4 to 5 h | 104 (54.3) | 33 (17.3) | 54 (28.3) |
8. Opioids should not be used in patients with a history of substance abuse | 89 (46.6) | 44 (23) | 58 (30.4) |
9. Morphine has a dose ceiling (i.e., a dose above which 2 greater pain relief can be obtained) | 92 (48.2) | 37 (19.4) | 62 (32.5) |
10. Pethidine can be prescribed for chronic pain safely | 76 (39.8) | 59 (30.9) | 56 (29.3) |
11. Important for assessing pain for patients at end-of-life | 116 (60.7) | 24(12.6) | 51 (26.7) |
12. If the patient's source of pain is unknown, opioids should not be used during the pain evaluation period, because this could mask the ability to correctly diagnose the cause of pain | 103 (53.9) | 32 (16.8) | 56 (29.3) |
13. Benzodiazepines are not effective pain relievers unless the pain is due to muscle spasms | 75 (39.3) | 46 (24.1) | 70 (36.6) |
14. The recommended route of administration of opioid analgesics for patients with persistent cancer-related pain is: (oral) | 83 (43.5) | 41 (21.5) | 67 (35.1) |
15. The recommended route of administration of opioid analgesics for patients with a brief severe sudden onset, such as trauma or postoperative pain, is: (intravenous) | 100 (52.4) | 33 (17.3) | 58 (30.4) |