Ch. 6: Pain Assessment Flashcards
PQRST
Precipitating & Palliative Quality & Quantity Region & Radiation Severity & Associated Symptoms Timing & Temporal
When a person is taking narcotics for pain…
there may be a change in bowel elimination
Acute pain has…
a recent onset of less than 6 months and is caused by tissue damage, usually ends when tissue heals
Nociceptive pain is…
caused by stimulation of somatic structures
Neuropathic pain is…
associated with the central or peripheral nervous system
Referred pain is used to describe pain that…
can be felt in a location other than the area of injury or disease
Phantom pain is…
felt by a person who has an amputated extremity
Standards for pain assessment have been put into place by
The Joint Commission
The physiology of pain
Begins with stimuli that cause tissue damage to nociceptors. Then sensory peripheral nerves are stimulated and initiate action along the spinal cord. Pain impulses are carried to the thalamus where pain is precepted. Once in the thalamus, impulses reach the parietal lobe, then the patient feels pain.
The pain threshold is…
the level at which pain is perceived
Pain tolerance refers to…
how much pain a person can handle before responding outwardly
Perception of pain in older adults
May be slower, but the pain is not different. Accurate pain assessment may be difficult to obtain because of hearing or visual impairments
