PURPOSE: The goal was to use electronic health records to identify factors and outcomes associated with falls among patients admitted to hematology units. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included data from a tertiary university hospital. Analysis was done of records from 117 patients with a history of falls and 201 patients with no history of falls who were admitted to the hematology unit from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014. Risk factors were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression; patient outcomes were analyzed using multiple logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards regression, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Clinical factors such as self-care nursing (OR=4.47, CI=1.64~12.11), leukopenia (OR=6.03; CI=2.51~14.50), and hypoalbuminemia (OR=2.79, CI=1.31~5.96); treatment factors such as use of narcotics (OR=2.06, CI=1.01~4.19), antipsychotics (OR=3.05, CI=1.20~7.75), and steroids (OR=4.51, CI=1.92~10.58); and patient factors such as low education (OR=3.16, CI=1.44~6.94) were significant risk factors. Falls were also associated with increased length of hospital stay to 21.58 days (p < .001), and healthcare costs of 17,052,784 Won (p < .001). CONCLUSION: These findings can be a resource for fall prevention education and to help develop fall risk assessment tools for adults admitted to hematology units.
Accidental Falls ; Adult ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Case-Control Studies ; Education ; Electronic Health Records ; Health Care Costs ; Hematology ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Length of Stay ; Leukopenia ; Linear Models ; Logistic Models ; Narcotics ; Nursing ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Self Care ; Steroids

PURPOSE: This study was to determine the levels of environmental stressor, posttraumatic stress disorder, and quality of life in intensive care units (ICU) survivors after intensive care, and to explore the factors affecting posttraumatic stress disorder and quality of life.METHODS: With a longitudinal survey design, data were collected from 116 patients who were discharged from the ICU of a university hospital. The environmental stressor, posttraumatic stress disorder, and quality of life were measured immediately following and 1 month after the ICU discharge.RESULTS: Of all the subjects, 16.4% experienced posttraumatic stress disorder after discharge. Multiple regression analysis revealed that ICU environmental stressors, experience of ICU readmission, using psychotropic drugs and narcotic analgesics, and ICU admission after surgery or cardiac intervention accounted for 22.2% of posttraumatic stress disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder and sedation status when entering ICU accounted for 28.3% of the quality of life 1 month after ICU discharge.CONCLUSION: Nursing interventions focused on ICU environmental stressors would not only reduce environmental stress but also contribute to the reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder and later improvement of quality of life.
Critical Care ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Longitudinal Studies ; Narcotics ; Nursing ; Psychotropic Drugs ; Quality of Life ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Survivors

No abstract available.
Information Management* ; Narcotics*

Background: Intravenous (IV) oxycodone has been used at induction to prevent an intubation reaction. The aims of the current study were to calculate the median effective dose (ED) and the 95% effective dose (ED) of an IV bolus of oxycodone that blunts the hemodynamic response to tracheal intubation with propofol according to gender and to observe the adverse events of induction-dose oxycodone. Methods: Adult patients who required general anesthesia and tracheal intubation were enrolled. Tracheal intubation was performed using unified TD-C-IV video laryngoscopy and an ordinary common endotracheal tube. Dixon's up-and-down method was used to obtain EDdata for women and men separately. The initial dose of oxycodone was 0.2 mg/kg for women and 0.3 mg/kg for men (step size was 0.01 mg/kg). Next, a dose-response curve from the probit analysis was generated to determine the EDand EDto blunt the intubation reaction in female and male patients. Adverse events following oxycodone injection were observed for 5 min before propofol injection. Results: Sixty-three patients were analyzed, including 29 females and 34 males. According to the probit analysis, the ED and EDof oxycodone required to blunt the intubation reaction in women were 0.254 mg/kg (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.220-0.328 mg/kg) and 0.357 mg/kg (95% CI, 0.297-2.563 mg/kg), respectively. In men, the ED and EDwere 0.324 mg/kg (95% CI, 0.274-0.381 mg/kg) and 0.454 mg/kg (95% CI, 0.384-2.862 mg/kg), respectively. Men required 28% more oxycodone than women for induction (P < 0.01). The most common adverse events were dizziness (87.3%), vertigo (66.7%), sedation (74.6%), and respiratory depression (66.7%). Conclusions Oxycodone can be used for induction to prevent intubation reactions. Gender affected the EDand EDof oxycodone for blunting the tracheal intubation reaction.
Adult ; Anesthetics, Intravenous ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Laryngoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Narcotics ; administration & dosage ; Oxycodone ; administration & dosage

PURPOSE: This study investigates pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding iatrogenic narcotic analgesic withdrawal symptoms management (INAWSM).METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, 253 pediatric nurses working at a tertiary hospital in Seoul participated. Instruments were the inventory consisting questionnaires on 35 items knowledge and 12 items attitude for INAWSM. Further, descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance were used to evaluate the nurses' knowledge and attitudes.RESULTS: The correct answers rate of knowledge toward INAWSM was 44.9%. With respect to the pediatric nurses' attitudes, the participants scored an average value of 2.83±0.25 out of 4 points. The factor related to the knowledge and attitude level was age, pediatric nursing experience, educational experience, and educational needs.CONCLUSION: Results revealed that pediatric nurses had inadequate knowledge and attitude on INAWSM despite a compulsory education. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an efficient INAWSM educational program.
Analgesics ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education ; Humans ; Methods ; Narcotics ; Pediatric Nursing ; Seoul ; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome ; Tertiary Care Centers

Long QT syndrome is a cardiac repolarization disorder and is associated with an increased risk of torsades de pointes. The acquired form is most often attributable to administration of specific medications and/or electrolyte imbalance. This review provides insights into the risk for QT prolongation associated with drugs frequently used in the treatment of chronic pain. In the field of pain medicine all the major drug classes (i.e. NSAIDs, opioids, anticonvulsive and antidepressant drugs, cannabinoids, muscle relaxants) contain agents that increase the risk of QT prolongation. Other substances, not used in the treatment of pain, such as proton pump inhibitors, antiemetics, and diuretics are also associated with long QT syndrome. When the possible benefits of therapy outweigh the associated risks, slow dose titration and electrocardiography monitoring are recommended.
Analgesics ; Analgesics, Opioid ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Anticonvulsants ; Antidepressive Agents ; Antiemetics ; Cannabinoids ; Chronic Pain ; Diuretics ; Electrocardiography ; Long QT Syndrome ; Muscle Relaxants, Central ; Narcotics ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Torsades de Pointes

BACKGROUND: Nefopam is a non-opioid, non-steroidal analgesic drug with fewer adverse effects than narcotic analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and is widely used for postoperative pain control. Because nefopam sometimes causes side effects such as nausea, vomiting, somnolence, hyperhidrosis and injection-related pain, manufacturers are advised to infuse it slowly, over a duration of 15 minutes. Nevertheless, pain at the injection site is very common. Therefore, we investigated the effect of warmed carrier fluid on nefopam injection-induced pain. METHODS: A total of 48 patients were randomly selected and allocated to either a control or a warming group. Warming was performed by diluting 40 mg of nefopam in 100 ml of normal saline heated to 31–32℃ using two fluid warmers. The control group was administered 40 mg of nefopam dissolved in 100 ml of normal saline stored at room temperature (21–22℃) through the fluid warmers, but the fluid warmers were not activated. RESULTS: The pain intensity was lower in the warming group than in the control group (P < 0.001). The pain severity and tolerance measurements also showed statistically significant differences between groups (P < 0.001). In the analysis of vital signs before and after the injection, the mean blood pressure after the injection differed significantly between the groups (P = 0.005), but the heart rate did not. The incidence of hypertension also showed a significant difference between groups (P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Use of warmed carrier fluid for nefopam injection decreased injection-induced pain compared to mildly cool carrier fluid.
Blood Pressure ; Cold Temperature ; Heart Rate ; Heating ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Narcotics ; Nausea ; Nefopam ; Pain, Postoperative ; Vasoconstriction ; Vasodilation ; Vital Signs ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: Acute postoperative pain control in children is an essential component of postoperative care, particularly in daycare procedures. Giving patients continuous narcotic analgesics can be risky; however, a single dose may be sufficient. METHODS: This study used a prospective, randomized controlled design and was conducted at the Pediatric Surgery Unit, Services Hospital, Lahore. In total, 150 patients who underwent inguinal herniotomy (age range: 1–12 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: group A (nalbuphine) and group B (tramadol). Patients were given a single dose of either nalbuphine (0.2 mg/kg) or tramadol (2 mg/kg) immediately after surgery and pain was measured at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h. RESULTS: The demographic characteristics were similar between the two groups. The mean pain score was lower in group A than in group B at 0 and 1 h (P < 0.05). However, at 4 h and 8 h, the pain scores in group A were still lower, but not significantly. In all, 9 patients (12.0%) required rescue analgesics in group A compared to 16 patients (21.3%) in group B (P = 0.051). The mean time for requirement of rescue analgesics was 6.5 ± 0.5 h in group A and 5.3 ± 1.7 h in group B (P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of nalbuphine is sufficient, and superior to tramadol, for postoperative pain management in children who have undergone daycare procedures.
Analgesics ; Child* ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Humans ; Nalbuphine* ; Narcotics ; Pain, Postoperative* ; Postoperative Care ; Prospective Studies ; Tramadol*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Opiate use for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly high-dose (HD) use, is associated with increased mortality. It's assumed that opiate use is directly related to IBD-related complaints, although this hasn't been well defined. Our goal was to determine the indications for opiate use as a first step in developing strategies to prevent or decrease opiate use. METHODS: A retrospective cohort was formed of adults who were diagnosed with IBD and for whom outpatient evaluations from 2009 to 2014 were documented. Opiate use was defined if opiates were prescribed for a minimum of 30 days over a 365-day period. Individual chart notes were then reviewed to determine the clinical indication(s) for low-dose (LD) and HD opiate use. RESULTS: After a search of the electronic records of 1,109,277 patients, 3,226 patients with IBD were found. One hundred four patients were identified as opiate users, including 65 patients with Crohn's and 39 with ulcerative colitis; a total of 134 indications were available for these patients. IBD-related complaints accounted for 49.25% of the opiate indications, with abdominal pain (23.13%) being the most common. Overall, opiate use for IBD-related complaints (81.40% vs. 50.82%; P=0.0014) and abdominal pain (44.19% vs. 19.67%; P=0.0071) was more common among HD than among LD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that most IBD patients using opiates, particularly HD users, used opiates for IBD-related complaints. Future research will need to determine the degree to which these complaints are related to disease activity and to formulate non-opiate pain management strategies for patients with both active and inactive IBD.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Cohort Studies ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Crohn Disease ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Mortality ; Narcotics ; Outpatients ; Pain Management ; Retrospective Studies

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate changes in perceptions of treatment using narcotic analgesics and quality of life in chronic back pain patients. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Negative perceptions of narcotic analgesics as pain killers have been established as factors affecting compliance and adherence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 140 patients who had chronic back pain for over 3 months were examined using clinical scales such as the Korean version of the Oswestry Disability Index (KODI), the Short Form-12 (SF-12), and a visual analog scale (VAS). The survey regarding narcotic analgesics classified patients as having positive perceptions if they reported absolutely not wanting to use them or being unlikely to use them at the primary interview and after 4 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients (68%) reported negative perceptions of narcotic analgesics at the primary interview. Sixty-one of those patients (64%) changed their perceptions, reporting positive perceptions after 4 weeks of treatment, as indicated by the ODI (p=0.01), SF-12 (p=0.01), and VAS (p=0.01) scores. A change from positive to negative perceptions after 4 weeks of treatment was observed in 13 patients (28%) who experienced adverse effects of narcotics treatment (p=0.01). Among the 33 patients (23%) whose negative perceptions did not change, dissatisfaction with previous treatment was found to be a contributing factor in 22 (66%). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical improvements after treatment using narcotic analgesics in chronic back pain patients resulted in a significant positive impact on perceptions about narcotic analgesics. Narcotic analgesics could be an alternative treatment choice in chronic back pain patients because of improvements in their quality of life.
Back Pain* ; Chronic Pain ; Compliance ; Humans ; Narcotics ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life* ; Visual Analog Scale ; Weights and Measures