Individualized care plans, safe administration of pain drugs and appropriate monitoring practices can avert serious adverse events from opioid drugs for chronic pain patients, such as unintentional sedation and respiratory depression, according to a Pain Management Nursing report.
A panel appointed by the American Society for Pain Management Nursing also noted that combining analgesics to target different causes of pain, known as multimodal analgesia, requires more aggressive assessment and monitoring.
The panel's recommendations are based on current research and guidelines for opioid analgesics and a nationwide survey on current monitoring practices by nurses.
Related Articles on Opioids for Pain Management:
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