Implementing a Pain Assessment Survey and Team Approach Method to Effectively Assess and Treat Pain in Poststroke Patients.
Kirill Alekseyev, Peter Iskander, Patrick De Santo
PMID 33543085WHAT IT FOUND
Adding a pain survey to admission and using a team approach meant all poststroke patients were discharged pain free.
Without it, 31.7% left with pain. This suggests systematic assessment triggers effective treatment, though the study lacked a control group.
Key findings
01In the preintervention phase, 31.7% of patients were discharged with pain, whereas in the postintervention phase using a team approach, all patients were discharged pain free.
02Pain prevalence dropped from 31.7% in the preintervention survey to 11.8% in the postintervention assessment.
03Patients with higher pain scores on admission had longer hospital stays, with a correlation coefficient of 0.5.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was not a randomized controlled trial; it compared a retrospective preintervention group with a prospective postintervention group. The preintervention group relied on retrospective data, which introduces the risk of recall bias. There was no blinding of patients or providers. The requirement to discharge patients only when their pain scale was 0 may not be realistic in all clinical settings. Pain assessment is subjective and can be difficult to evaluate accurately.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this team approach works for all poststroke pain. The study lacked a control group, so the improvement may be due to natural recovery or other factors. Also, the goal of zero pain at discharge is not always achievable or realistic for every patient.