Pain Management Nursing
Volume 7, Issue 2 , Pages 44-52 , June 2006

Pain Assessment in the Nonverbal Patient: Position Statement with Clinical Practice Recommendations

  • Keela Herr, PhD, RN, FAAN

      Affiliations

    • Adult and Gerontological Nursing, The University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City, Iowa
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint request to Keela Herr, PhD, RN, FAAN, 452 NB, College of Nursing, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
    • ,
  • Patrick J. Coyne, MSN, RN, CS, FAAN

      Affiliations

    • Medical College of Virginia Hospital, Rockville, Virginia
    • ,
  • Tonya Key, RN, C

      Affiliations

    • Washington County Hospital Association, Hagerstown, Maryland
    • ,
  • Renee Manworren, MS, RN, C, CNS

      Affiliations

    • Clinical Nurse Specialist and Manager of Pain Management, Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Dallas, Texas
    • ,
  • Margo McCaffery, MS, RN, FAAN

      Affiliations

    • Independent Consultant in the Nursing Care of Patients with Pain, Los Angeles, California
    • ,
  • Sandra Merkel, MS, RNC

      Affiliations

    • Mott Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan
    • ,
  • Jane Pelosi-Kelly, MSN, RN, C, CS, ANP

      Affiliations

    • Alexian Brothers Hospital Network, Elk Grove Village, Illinois
    • ,
  • Lori Wild, PhD, RN

      Affiliations

    • University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Washington

References 

  1. American Nurses Association . Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements . Silver Springs, MD: American Nurses Publishing; 2001;
  2. American Pain Society . Principles of analgesic use in the treatment of acute pain and cancer pain . 5th ed. Glenview, IL: Author; 2003;
  3. Burns JW , Hodsman NBA , McLintock TTC , et al.   The influence of patient characteristics on the requirements for postoperative analgesia . Anaesthesia . 1989;44:2–6
  4. Gordon DB , Dahl JD , Miaskowski C , McCarberg B , Todd KH , Paice JA , et al.   American Pain Society recommendations for improving the quality of acute and cancer pain management . Archives of Internal Medicine . 2005;165:1574–1580
  5. Gordon DB , Dahl J , Phillips P , Frandsen J , Cowley C , Foster RL , et al.   The use of “as-needed” range orders for opioid analgesics in the management of acute pain (a consensus statement of the American society of pain management nursing and the American pain society) . Pain Management Nursing . 2005;5(2):53–58
  6. Hamill-Ruth RJ , Marohn ML . Evaluation of pain in the critically ill patient . Critical Care Clinics . 1999;15(1):35–53
  7. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations . Pain Assessment and management (an organizational approach) . Oakbrook Terrace, IL: Author; 2000;
  8. Macintyre PE , Jarvis DA . Age is the best predictor of postoperative morphine requirements . Pain . 1995;64:357–364
  9. Marquie L , Raufaste E , Lauque D , Marine C , Ecoiffier M , Sorum P . Pain ratings by patients and physicians (evidence of systematic pain miscalibration) . Pain . 2003;102(3):289–296
  10. McCaffery M . Nursing practice theories related to cognition, bodily pain, and man-environment interactions . Los Angeles: University of California at Los Angeles Students’ Store; 1968;
  11. McCaffery M , Pasero C . Assessment. Underlying complexities, misconceptions, and practical tools . In:  McCaffery M ,  Pasero C editor. Pain (clinical manual) . 2nd ed.. St. Louis: Mosby; 1999;p. 35–102
  12. Merkel S . Pain assessment in infants and young children (the finger span scale) . The American Journal of Nursing . 2002;102(11):55–56
  13. Miaskowski C , Cleary J , Burney R , Coyne P , Finley R , Foster R . Guidelines for the management of cancer pain in adults and children [Clinical Practice Guidelines Series, No. 3] . Glenville, IL: American Pain Society; 2005;
  14. Pasero C , McCaffery M . Pain in the critically ill . The American Journal of Nursing . 2002;102(1):59–60
  15. Pasero C , McCaffery M . No self-report means no pain-intensity rating . The American Journal of Nursing . 2005;105(3.10):50–55
  16. Puntillo KA , White C , Morris AB , Perdue ST , Stanik-Hutt J , Thompson CL , et al.   Patients’ perceptions and responses to procedural pain (results from Thunder Project II) . American Journal of Critical Care . 2001;10(4):238–251

PII: S1524-9042(06)00033-6

doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2006.02.003

Pain Management Nursing
Volume 7, Issue 2 , Pages 44-52 , June 2006

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