Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 13th Edition by Kerry Cheever, Janice Hinkle

Exercise 2

A 78-year-old patient with bone metastasis from an unknown primary cancerhas been receiving an opioid through a continuous subcutaneous infusion of analgesiawith an infusion pump to relieve severe pain. His wife tells you that both she and herhusband fear that he will become addicted to the opioid; his adult children report thathis pain remains severe and unrelieved.As a home care nurse, what assessmentswould be of highest priority to you during your initial visit to this patient? Whatwould be your top three nursing interventions for the patient and his wife?