Managing Pain in Critically Ill Adults: A Holistic Approach: A review of best practices from the current clinical guidelines

Abstract

Nurses caring for critically ill adults are challenged to balance patient comfort with the risk of complications associated with analgesic therapy. Evidence gathered since 2013, when the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) published the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Pain, Agitation, and Delirium in Adult Patients in the Intensive Care Unit, known as the PAD guidelines, gave rise to the SCCM 2018 publication of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility, and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU, known as the PADIS guidelines. This article discusses how the PADIS guidelines go beyond the PAD guidelines, providing specific guidance related to risk factors for pain, the assessment and management of pain in critical illness, and the ways in which the experience of pain in critical illness is intertwined with that of agitation, delirium, immobility, and sleep disruption. Tables summarize the key points in the PADIS guidelines, clarify the distinctions between PADIS and PAD, and describe the implications for nurses.