Pain management nursing in hospitalized patients with non-oncological diseases

Aim: To assess pain management in patients hospitalized with a non-oncological disease and evaluate factors involved in pain assessment. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study. We reviewed pain episodes documented in the medical records of 105 patients aged > 18 years admitted to the medical units of a regional hospital between September and December 2014. Reports of pain episodes were evaluated by assessing 22 variables related to pain management quality criteria. Results: A total of 184 reports were reviewed. Pain was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) in 70.1% of patients (n = 129); pain was reassessed in 44.3% (n = 54) of patients. Pain reassessment was significantly more frequent in patients aged < 70 years, as compared to older patients (53.1 vs. 26.8%, respectively; p = 0.01). Pain was more frequently considered to be unrelated to the cause of admission in women as compared to men (50 vs. 25.7% p = 0.027). Pain was identified in the patient care plan as a collaborative problem by the nurse for 21.1% of the patients. Conclusions: Some aspects of pain management should be improved, especially those regarding pain description and reassessment. The age and sex of patients significantly influence the approach of pain. (C) 2015 Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.