The health care provider plans to titrate a patient-controlled opioid infusion (PCA) to provide pain relief for a patient with acute surgical pain who has never received opioids in the past. Which of the following nursing actions regarding opioid administration are appropriate at this time? (Select all that apply.)

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Monitoring for pain relief and teaching the patient about how opioid use will improve postoperative outcomes are appropriate actions when administering opioids for acute pain. Although postoperative patients usually need decreasing amount of opioids by the second postoperative day, each patient's response is individual. Although tolerance may occur, addiction to opioids will not develop in the acute postoperative period. The patient should use the opioids to achieve adequate pain control, and so the nurse should not emphasize the adverse effects.

The Health Care Provider Plans to Titrate a Patient-Controlled Opioid