INTRODUCTION The Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) is frequently used to assess patient-reported breathlessness in both a research and clinical context. A subgroup of patients report average breathlessness as worse than their worst breathlessness in the last 24 hours (paradoxical average). The Peak/End rule describes how the most extreme and current breathlessness influence reported average. This st...

BACKGROUND The effectiveness and safety of switch from oral oxycodone to fentanyl patch is little known. Here, we investigated if early phase opioid switch from low dose of oral oxycodone to transdermal fentanyl matrix patch provided any benefits for patients with thoracic malignancy and stable cancer-related pain. METHODS This open-label two-centered prospective study enrolled patients with ...

BACKGROUND Pruritus is a common and frustrating symptom in hemodialysis (HD) patients and 5-D itch scale is proposed as a reliable measurement of pruritus. However, information regarding 5-D itch scale categories is currently unavailable. We explored optimal cut-offs 5-D itching scale based on numerical rating scale (NRS) categories in HD patients. METHODS Four hundred and nine HD patients in...

Quality of care gains transparency with the help of performance indicators. For Dutch nursing homes, the current set of performance indicators does not include pain. To determine the feasibility of pain assessment as performance indicator, information about pain prevalence and analgesic prescription in one nursing home was collected. Within the time span of 3 days, pain intensity was measured i...

BACKGROUND Although pain management is a fundamental aspect of care in emergency departments (EDs), inadequate treatment of pain is unfortunately common. There are multiple local protocols for pain assessment in the ED. This study evaluated whether the initial assessment and treatment of pain in the ED are in accordance with the in-hospital protocol of the ED at a Norwegian University Hospital....

STUDY OBJECTIVE The objective was to quantify the analgesic effect of a dose of intravenous morphine, 0.1 mg/kg, to emergency department (ED) patients presenting in acute, severe pain. METHODS This was a prospective convenience cohort of patients aged 21 to 65 years and presenting to an academic urban ED with acute, severe pain. Patients rated their pain intensity on a validated 11-point verb...

Although chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain is a significant health problem, the molecular mechanisms involved in developing and maintaining chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain are poorly understood. Central sensitization mechanisms maintained by stimuli from peripheral tissues such as muscle have been suggested. Lipid mediators with anti-inflammatory characteristics such as endogenous...

background: pain is described as the fifth vital sign, and inadequate pain management is linked to numerous immediate and long-term negative outcomes. venipuncture is one of the most painful medical procedures in children. distraction is one of the most effective ways to relieve pain. reducing patients’ pain is important for all nurses for many reasons. unnecessary pain can damage the nurse-pat...

Using assessments to provide program-level accountability and to guide improvement is growing. The most notable and unprecedented example is the Head Start National Reporting System (NRS). Extensive controversy has broken out within the Head Start community and the early childhood field regarding what the NRS assesses (National Head Start Association, 2004; Meisels & Atkins-Burnett, 2004; Gover...