A COMPARISON OF ACUTE PAIN RESPONSES OF PATIENTS POST ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM REPAIR RECEIVING INTERMITTENT OR CONTINUOUS INFUSION MORPHINE SULFATE.
Contributors: Rush University, College Of Nursing.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 110
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Pharmacy.
Description: This study addressed the problem of post-surgical pain responses of patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) following abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Acute post-surgical pain responses frequently invoke a sympathetic nervous system reaction, and facilitate behaviors that may increase oxygen needs at the tissue level. Critically ill patients may be hemodynamically compromised and unable to enact compensatory mechanisms to maintain adequate tissue perfusion. These patients are at high risk to develop serious complications.

This study was an experimental design to explore and compare acute post-surgical pain responses of patients receiving intermittent MSO$\sb4$ and patients receiving continuous infusion MSO$\sb4.$ Fifty post-surgical AAA patients, randomly assigned to the experimental (continuous infusion MSO$\sb4)$ or the control group (intermittent MSO$\sb4),$ were compared on demographic and identifying factors, physiological variables (mean arterial pressure, heart rate, saturated arterial oxygenation and saturated venous oxygenation), number of episodes of pain, pain intensity, evidence of opioid induced gastro-intestinal complications, and length of stay (hours) in (SICU). Patients were classified on admission to the SICU using the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE III).

This study showed that subjects in the experimental group experienced less episodes of pain, less pain intensity, and less changes in saturated venous oxygenation and heart rate than subjects in the control group. There were no significant differences concerning demographic variables, APACHE III scores, opioid induced gastro-intestinal complications, or length of stay in SICU. This study recommended administration of continuous opioid infusion for post-surgical pain.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-03, Section: B, page: 1715.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--RUSH UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF NURSING, 1996.

School code: 0591.