How about this for an order?

Nurses General Nursing

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This may just be my naivete or age showing but I saw a prn order from an old "breast man" that read verbatim "Ativan 1 mg p.o q 4-6hrs prn pain".

Yuck :uhoh3: :angryfire

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

ativan???? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This may just be my naivete or age showing but I saw a prn order from an old "breast man" that read verbatim "Ativan 1 mg p.o q 4-6hrs prn pain".

Yuck :uhoh3: :angryfire

Best to leave a note on the front of the chart for clarification, or call him. What is an old 'breast man' btw?

MD's aren't allowed to write "q4-6 hrs" they had to SPECIFY like "q4 hrs" or "q6 hrs"......at least thats the new policy @ my hospital

MD's aren't allowed to write "q4-6 hrs" they had to SPECIFY like "q4 hrs" or "q6 hrs"......at least thats the new policy @ my hospital

They do that all the time where I work. It's just so silly. I mean, why not make it every 4 hours, since that is the minimum time you can have bettween doses. I always thought that was nonsensical.

Specializes in Inpatient Acute Rehab.

Ativan is used for pain at times because of the calming effect which allows the client to relax enough so that the pain eases. I have seen this done in the past several years; mostly with cancer and abdominal diseases.

Ativan is used for pain at times because of the calming effect which allows the client to relax enough so that the pain eases. I have seen this done in the past several years; mostly with cancer and abdominal diseases.

Me too (seen Ativan used for pain) - I was trying to figure out what the problem was.

And me too - what is an "old breast man" and what does that have to do with Ativan. :chuckle

Breast men come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

Thank God not my dear husband . . after 4 kids . .well . . . :rolleyes:

steph

Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.

I've seen ativan ordered for agitation, anxiety, restlessness, but I've never seen ativan ordered for pain.

I can see it being an adjuvant to a pain med, but on it's own does it really work? Are they really relaxed and do patients experience less pain or are they just sedated?

I've seen ativan ordered for agitation, anxiety, restlessness, but I've never seen ativan ordered for pain.

I can see it being an adjunct to a pain med, but on it's own does it really work? Are they really relaxed and do patients experience less pain or are they just sedated?

Well, one of the methods used in biofeedback is to lessen anxiety and therefore lessen pain. Also Lamaze classes - breathing techniques to relax you so you can handle the pain better (of course they lie in Lamaze class :rolleyes:

steph

Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.

Breast Men

:specs:

They do that all the time where I work. It's just so silly. I mean, why not make it every 4 hours, since that is the minimum time you can have bettween doses. I always thought that was nonsensical.

I agree the order doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I see it all the time as well. One possibility is that if you haven't given the med in 6 hours, you may want to check on the patient (check VS, pain scale if applicable, etc) so that the drug does not get all the way out of the system, which makes it harder to get a handle on the pain again when it jumps up to being a 9/10 with nothing on board.

They do that all the time where I work. It's just so silly. I mean, why not make it every 4 hours, since that is the minimum time you can have bettween doses. I always thought that was nonsensical.

I believe it's used as an adjuvant, as previously stated by others.

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