Nursing Diagnosis Question

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hi,

I'm working on a project about using gabapentin for postherpetic neuralgia. I need to write 2 nursing diagnoses. I'm having trouble with one regarding to chronic pain.

In my Cox's Clinical Applications book "chronic pain" has one related factor: "chronic physical or psychosocial disability." I know I can't use the medical diagnosis of "postherpetic neuralgia" in a NDX. But "neuralgia" is just nerve pain, right? So can I use that? If not, would "nerve pain" be alright?

I'm thinking of: Chronic pain r/t neuralgia AEB pt's verbal report of pain.

Can someone please tell me if this is acceptable?

Thanks,

Evie

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I assume the patient had shingles at one time. Isn't the neuralgia because of nerve damage? Did you read up on the pathophysiology of this? That would make the diagnosis Chronic pain R/T nerve damage AEB [evidence of patient's pain]. All you have is subjective evidence of the patient's pain. Don't you have more objective symptoms?

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Thanks so much for your response! There isn't a "real" patient, its for a project on patient education about medications for my pharm class. So I guess the objective symptoms could be anything I want. :)

The (imaginary) pt had shingles, which would result in nerve damage. I worry about overstepping the fine line of using a medical dx in a NDX. I know that the pain is caused by damage to the nerves, but I wasn't sure if I can say that in a NDX. Doesn't a doctor have to determine that there is damage?

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

no. you would know that from knowing the course of the disease. you would know that it created the nerve damage and that is why the patient is having pain. the definition of chronic pain is unpleasant sensory and emotional experience arising from actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage (international association for the study of pain); sudden or slow onset of any intensity from mild to severe, constant or recurring without an anticipated or predictable end and a duration of more than 6 months. (page 355, nanda international nursing diagnoses: definitions and classifications 2009-2011). so placing the kind of damage as the related factor on the nursing diagnostic statement is perfectly acceptable.

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Thank you so much!

So, my final NDX is: Chronic pain r/t nerve damage AEB restlessness.

*I changed it from "pt's report of pain" so that it is objective, rather than subjective.

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