engleski

Pain management in the burn injured patients

Background: Burn pain is one of the most difficult form of pain to treat from any type of etiology, and optimal burn pain management presents a challenge throughout the entire period of treatment. Objective: The authors analysed the characteristics of burn pain as well as pain management of adult burn patients. Methods: The 50 patients with severe burns, who were hospitally treated during the year 2004 at the Zagreb University Hospital of Traumatology, were selected as the sample for this study. Patients were interviewed within 2 weeks of their burn trauma. All patients were administered the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Coping with Burns Questionnaire. Also, the visual analog scale was multiple used to measure current pain intensity. Results: Patients were mostly treated with continuous intravenous opiate infusions during the first days of hospitalization. Background pain was mostly treated with tramadol , and breakthrough pain with opiate or NSAIDs. Procedural pain was treated with intravenous application of tramadol or morfine. General psychological distress was highly correlated with pain severity and pain dissability. Psychotropic agents as adjuvant therapy for pain control as well as for psychiatric disorders have been prescribed to all patients Conclusion: The treatment of burn pain should be individually tailored and continuously evaluated. Tramadol has dual mechanism of action, and is likely to have an important role in the management of burn pain Optimal treatment of burn pain will prevent the development of chronic pain, as serious consequence of inadequate pain management .

burn pain; management; tramadol

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