Assessment of Postoperative Pain in Nursing

Introduction. Postoperative pain is a typical form of acute pain and is connected with extensive traumatization of tissue and operation wound traumatic edema, which in its turn, becomes a source of permanent nociceptive impulses. Insufficiently controlled postoperative pain is a factor of risk for the development of various pathologies, postoperative complications, as well as chronic pain. Aim of the study. To study the usage of postoperative period pain intensity and quality assessment scales in the clinical practice of nursing, as well as availability of methods. Materials and methods. Inquiry utilized quantitative research method - questionnaire. The questionnaire embraced 263 patients and 309 nurses, working in surgical profile. Survey was carried out in surgical profile wards in Riga and regional clinics of Latvia. Results. Prevalent method, in our investigation of pain intensity evaluation, is patient's oral subjective and objective assessment of condition. Such method is mentioned by 87% (269/309) of respondents. A conventional and acknowledged method of pain objectivization - verbal descriptor pain intensity scale is applied by 22% (69/309) respondents, but visual analogue scale is utilized only by 5% (15/309) respondents. Assessment of postoperative pains as systematic and planed operation was marked by 41% (126/309) of surgical nurses. Conclusions. Prevailing method in the clinical practice of pain assessment is patient's subjective and objective evaluation of condition. However, this method is insufficiently recorded and objectivizated. Therefore, it is an actual problem in surgical patient care and shows necessity for standards and improvement of postoperative pain management.