Interventions for Acute pain Dx

[life_student]

Patient has had bilateral mastectomy, was discharged home and came back 2days later when one of the drainage tubes came out by accident. In pain with swelling on R side which MDs are assessing for necrotized tissue.

I have put "Acute pain R/T invasive surgery AEB pain at an 8 on a 10 point scale" as the primary nursing diagnosis but I am kind of stumped on what interventions to use other than administration of prescribed pain meds.

Help!

[Angel@MyTable, RN]

Okay, I looked in my handy, dandy nursing dx reference manual, and here are the interventions + rationales they have listed for acute pain r/t physical, biological, or chemical agents:

• Assess pt's signs and symptoms of pain and administer pain meds as prescribed. Monitor and record the Rx effectiveness and adverse effects. Assessment allows for care plan modification, as needed.
• Plan activities with pt to provide distraction, such as reading, crafts, television, and visits to help pt focus on non pain related subjects.
• Perform comfort measures to promote relaxation, such as massage, bathing, repositioning, and relaxation techniques. These measures reduce muscle tension or spasm, redistribute pressure on body parts, and help pt focus on non pain related subjects.
• Provide pt with information to help increase pain tolerance, for example, reasons for pain, and length of time it will last. This educates pt, and encourages compliance in trying alternative pain relief measures.
• Manipulate the environment to promote periods of uninterrupted rest. This promotes health, well being, and increased energy level important to pain relief.
• Apply heat or cold as ordered (specify), to minimize or relieve pain.
• Help pt into a comfortable position and use pillows to splint or support painful areas, as appropriate, to reduce muscle tension or spasm and to redistribute pressure on body parts.
• Collaborate with pt in administering prescribed analgesics when alternative methods of pain control are inadequate. Gaining pt's trust and involvement helps ensure compliance and may reduce medication intake.
• When possible allow pt to use alternative pain Tx from his culture (such as acupuncture) as a substitute for a complement to Western Tx to promote nonpharm pain management.

Hope this helps + good Luck on your care plan! ?