An older adult is being treated for severe pain resulting from a history of osteoarthritis. In her discharge teaching, which information is most important to relay for the successful management of the pain?
a. Check for incompatibilities before taking any new medications.
b. Arrange to take a dose of analgesic prior to physical activity.
c. Take the analgesic around-the-clock as prescribed.
d. Be alert for the signs of overdose toxicity.
ANS: C
For someone with severe persistent pain it is important to achieve the highest level of pain con-trol; it is helpful to ease the "memory of pain," especially for those whose persistent pain is in-tense, like that of many chronic illnesses. This means to prevent the pain, not simply relieve it. The most effective way to do this is to provide around-the-clock (ATC) dosing, at the appropri-ate dosage. The other options are appropriate medication-related instructions but are not as di-rected toward successful management of chronic pain as is the correct option.
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