PRODUCT & SERVICE LINE REPORTS
PRODUCT & SERVICE LINE REPORTS
Managing pain, temperature two sides of the same coin?
Technique, technology can make a difference
Photo credit: Yakobchuk Olena |
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all them the kinfolk of patient physiol- ogy joined at the hip. Clinicians and medical experts regard temperature as one of the primary vital signs, while pain represents one of the primary indicators of health and wellness. With pain, temperature generally escalates; higher temperatures can lead to rising pain.
Because a high fever may cause pain you have to break the fever. To manage aching joints and muscles, however, you may apply heat. To operate on the body safely and with minimal-to-no pain you manage the body temperature and anesthetize or numb nerves and tissue. To help the body heal you manage temperature and relieve pain through medicinal or technological means. Pain also can affect the other vital signs besides body temperature, causing fl uctua- tions in pulse rate, respiration rate and blood pressure.
When caring for critical and surgical patients the management of pain and temperature fi t like hand-in-glove. There’s something synergistic, if not complemen- tary, between the two.
“Pain is complex,” Scott Augustine, M.D.,
CEO and Chief Technology Offi cer (CTO), Augustine Surgical Inc., told Healthcare Purchasing News. “It can be physical or psychological, or it can be general discomfort that is interpreted as pain. There is no question that someone that is cold is in more dis- comfort and will rate their
Augustine
body temperature. As a result, cold patients require more pain medication and spend a longer time in recovery.”
Jessica Mathieson, Vice President and General Manager of Acute Care, Stryker Corp., makes the connection, too. “In low-acuity situations,
temperature management can bring patients com- fort and mitigate pain by bringing the body back to a normothermic state,” she
Jessica Mathieson
said. “In some cases, localized temperature management is most directly related to pain, as you can be using cooling or warming as a form of therapy to directly mitigate pain in the affected area. For high-acuity cases where targeted temperature management is utilized, patients are frequently unconscious and temperature management is focused on improving patient outcomes post- treatment. Pain during treatment is limited by consciousness, but post-treatment pain is mitigated by impacting positive patient outcomes.”
But managing pain and/or managing temperature doesn’t necessarily gravitate toward medications and pharmaceuti- cals, such as acetaminophen, analgesics, ibuprofen, opioids and other pain killers. Holistically, the tasks span the gamut between the clinicians – nurse and physi- cian, products, staff and system as well as the patient.
pain as higher than someone with a normal Scott
Clinicians and patients have a variety of non-pharmaceutical options when it comes to managing pain. Over-the-counter
54 July 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com
(OTC) and prescription devices, therapies and technologies to relieve chronic or post- surgical pain can include wearable heat pads and patches and sensors, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) devices, radiofrequency ablation and radiofrequency catheter ablation devices, spinal cord devices that deliver electrical impulses and stimulation and devices that emit infrared light as alternatives to meds. For temperature, clinicians and patients also can choose from a variety of OTC and prescription devices, therapies and technologies that start with non-contact and direct-contact external thermometers to warming and cooling devices as well as core/whole-body temperature control and localized temperature control devices that can be used during the entire perioperative process – from patient room to surgical suite to recovery and the transport in between and post-discharge. These devices and technolo- gies also involve a variety of blankets, gel pads, packs, central venous catheters. Clinical experts know that managing pain and temperature extends well beyond patient comfort and convenience. The mere act of maintaining a patient’s normothermia, defi ned as the normal core body tempera- ture, during surgical procedures, can pre- vent a number of dangerous complications, according to experts at Gentherm Medical, which actively promotes patient tempera- ture management as part of its “Right Now” campaign. Failure to manage patient temperature properly can lead to increased risks for such complications as adverse myocardial
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