Analgesics in postoperative care in hip fracture patients with dementia – reported by nurses

Aims and objectives To describe the analgesic use in hip fracture patients with dementia during the first two postoperative days as reported by nurses. Background Nurses play a pivotal role in treating postoperative pain in patients with dementia and monitoring the effects of administered analgesics. Design Cross‐sectional descriptive questionnaire study in seven university hospitals and 10 central hospitals in Finland. Methods The study was conducted from March until May in 2011 in Finland. For this analysis, the focus was on the sample of nurses (n = 269) who were working in orthopaedic units. Analgesics were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. Nonparametric tests were applied to find out the significant differences between analgesic use and different hospitals. Results Paracetamol and strong opioids administered orally or parenterally seemed to be the most typical of postoperatively used types of analgesics in patients with dementia. Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory analgesics and weak opioids were also commonly reported to be in use. There were no statistically significant differences between hospitals in typical daily doses. The majority of the nurses reported that the primary aim of postoperative pain management in hip fracture patients with dementia was ‘slight pain, which does not prevent normal functioning' (72%). Conclusion The pharmacological postoperative pain treatment in acute care was commonly based on the use of strong opioids and paracetamol in hip fracture patients with dementia. The reported use of transdermal opioids and codeine combination warrants further examination. Further studies are also needed to find out whether the pain is appropriately and adequately treated. Relevance to clinical practice Transdermal opioids and codeine combination may not be relevant analgesics for acute pain management in older adults. It is important to create a balance between sufficient pain relief and adverse effects of analgesics to allow early mobilisation and functional recovery.