You are assessing an 86-year-old postoperative patient who is very stoic. When you enter the room, the patient is curled into the fetal position, and he is moaning. His vital signs are elevated and he is perspiring
You ask the patient what his pain level is on a zero-to-ten scale that you did patient education on with this patient prior to surgery. The patient indicates a pain level of two to three. You review your pain-management orders and find that all medications are ordered PRN. How would you treat this patient's pain?
A) Treat the clinical symptoms you see
B) Call the physician for new orders because it is obvious that the pain medicine is not working
C) Believe what the patient says
D) Ask the family what they think and treat accordingly
Ans: C
Feedback: As always, the best guide to pain management and administration of analgesic agents in all patients, regardless of age, is what the individual patient says. Option A is a good answer, but you cannot treat pain the patient denies having if the orders are PRN only. Option B is incorrect; the scenario does not indicate the present pain-management orders are not working for this patient. Option D is also a good answer to get insight into past behavior of this patient but does not indicate whether the patient will accept pain medication if he denies having appreciable pain.
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