NURS 165 Study Guide - Final Guide: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug, Opioid, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Pain Study Guide
• Classification of Pain
o Somatic
▪ Physiologic, inflammatory
o Neuropathic
▪ Result of nerve damage
▪ Ex. Diabetic neuropathy
o Functional
▪ Due to abnormal nervous function
▪ Ex. Irritable bowel syndrome
• Pain definitions
o Analgesia – reduced perception of pain
o Anesthesia – reduced perception of all sensation
o Paresthesia – abnormal sensation; not unpleasant
o Dysesthesia – abnormal sensation; not pleasant
o Allodynia – painful response to non-noxious stimuli
o Hyperalgesia – exaggerated response to noxious stimuli
• Acute v. chronic pain
o Acute – patient in obvious distressed, vital signs up
o Chronic – may or may not appear to be suffering
▪ Includes malignant pain
• Constant or intermittent, due to tumor, nerve
destruction, chemo, surgery, etc.
• Mechanisms of Pain
o Transduction
▪ Tissue injury, release of mediators that activate nociceptors
o Transmission
▪ Propagation of signal up nerve fibers
▪ A-delta fibers are fast (somatic), C fibers are slow (dull, achy
pain)
o Perception
▪ Conscious awareness of pain
o Modulation
▪ Descending inhibitory pathways meet & block pain signal
o SEE NOTES FOR MORE DETAIL
• Therapeutic Approaches for Pain
o Non-pharm
▪ Stimulation therapy, behavioral
o Pharm
▪ Analgesics
• Opiods, non-sterioidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs)
▪ Adjunctive agents
• Local anesthetics (cocaine, novacain, etc.)
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