Physical and Chemical Restraint in the Emergency Room (for Nurses)

Injured, and many ill patients, are painful sometimes it is obvious but others not. History and physical examination upon admission must include assessment, severity and location of pain to avoid these areas during restraint. Extreme caution with a penetrating foreign body is presented. Various procedures are required to treat and diagnose patients presenting on an emergency basis. Procedural analgesia, +/- required anesthesia, is outlined for common situations for patients that are approachable, and others that are aggressive. Included in the lecture are videos identifying early stages of pain behaviour to assist with recognition and management, and patients with opioid-induced dysphoria and reversal. Additional reading notes provide an outline of the benefits of various analgesics and the potential adverse effects each may have. They also contain information on analgesic selection and background information  on reasons for selection and warnings of the various analgesics for each patient category:  pregnant, nursing mothers, neonates and pediatric patients as they can sustain injuries and acquire painful illnesses requiring analgesics. Physiologic importance of managing pain in the neonate, infant, weanling and juvenile patients is also included as pain confers nociceptive pathway changes with a lifelong impact if not treated appropriately.

The Australian Veterinary Nurse and Technician (AVNAT) Regulatory Council has allocated (1) AVNAT CPD point to this continuing education activity. 

Recording from 18 March 2021