I have selected the use of guided imagery to help reduce the number of opioids used for break through pain in the postoperative setting. I think this is extremely important with the opioid epidemic that is happening all over the world right now. We need to limit the use of opioids with pediatrics and help reduce the possibility for addition later in life. Pediatrics also has a special place in my heart. Being the fourth oldest of twenty grandkids means that I have been around kids my whole life and helped babysit from the age of ten.
I think that the with the opioid epidemic, it is important for us to limit the use of opioids for children to only when absolutely needed. If we can substitute non-pharmacological pain management such as guided imagery as nurses instead of instantly jumping to the use of opioids. I think we are setting up these children for better coping abilities for later painful or stressful situations in life.
Your poster is definitely a hot topic of discussion. Most of the discussion about opioids centers around the adult population. Your systematic review on reducing opioid use on children is vital. Nurses should not use medications for convenience. Thank you for bringing light into this subject.
Thank you for your comment. I agree that most of the education now is centered around adults. I feel that if we start young and help show the children in society something that is useful not only for pain, but other situations, we are setting them up for a more successful life.
Hello Kmhitchcock, You did an amazing job with your poster really liked how you put together your methods and the results. Honestly I never truly thought about the opioids and children, its not really heard of in the area of nursing I currently work. Opioid-related increased risks for opioid misuse, abuse, dependence, addiction, and overdose deaths have become a great concern (PainResManag,2019) throughout the years making it even more critical for children due to their body organs not fully developed and the dosing of the medication and assessments are essential to their health.
Reference: Zhao, S., Chen, F., Feng, A., Han, W., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies for Postoperative Opioid Abuse. Pain research & management, 2019, 7490801. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7490801
You make a very valid point that the organs and body of children are not fully developed and putting too much medication in children’s bodies can cause issues. Thank you for shedding light on that! We have to be so careful on growing bodies
I like what you said here, “The key to preventing many health conditions is to develop positive coping strategies early in life so that children have tools to use when they are faced with uncertain times and stressful events.”
What a gift nurses can give a young patient, a tool like guided imagery to help them deal with stress and pain in a healthy way throughout their lives. And isn’t it wonderful that this method is of no cost or negative consequence, it only takes a little planning and effort from a caring nurse.
I love that you used the word gift. Sometimes we as nurses feel that we are not doing enough, but we are all gifts. We get lost in the business of the day and we forget that the little things we do are making a difference.
Kayla, I thought you did a great job on your poster. I am interested in the concept that you chose as well as the research behind it. I do not have pediatrics on my unit, but I do have patients with opioid problems. I think it is important to address the pain in post op pediatric patients in every way possible, including guided imagery, to avoid ongoing problems with the opioid problem that our country currently has to deal with.
I work with a provider that is passionate about getting people off opioids. I love that I have ended up working with him and it is so neat to see successes! People who are willing to try it tend to have higher success rates because they have better mind sets!
Hi Kayla,
I am not very familiar with the pediatric population, but I agree that opioid use to treat pain is an important topic in any age group. I do wonder how guided imagery would work on the adult population and if it would make a difference in post-operative pain. Like you stated, it is important to limit opioid use unless absolutely needed, and find other alternatives. I have noticed the practitioners at my work trying to do this whenever possible. We are not using fentanyl drips near as much as we used to. Even in anesthesia, they are talking about “opioid-sparing” techniques to try to reduce the use of opioids. You did a very nice job on your poster.
Although this was aimed at just pediatrics, I feel this is something that can be adapted to each age group and modified to use for everyone. Like mentioned, it is not contraindicated in anyone, but we do have to adapt it to different people. I love that we are reducing opioids all around.
This is an interesting topic to discuss. As a perioperative nurse, children often have higher thresholds for pain. Most of our pediatric patients only require Tylenol or Ibuprofen to treat their post operative pain. Guided imagery would work for some surgeries, however, boney fracture repairs are incredibly painful, and would require more than just guided imagery to adequately treat their pain. A technique frequently used to reduce post operative pain is a nerve block to prevent the pain sensation. This is a great way to minimize the need for narcotics in the postoperative setting. Overall your poster was well organized. Your information was clear and concise.
Thank you for your feedback! I like that you made the point that guided imagery is sometimes not enough and I completely agree. More painful procedures are going to need some narcotics, but with hope I feel we can minimize the PRN opioids and stick with only scheduled.
This is bitter sweet to me. 70,000 American deaths due to overdose – 9,000 pediatric deaths due to accidental overdose or poisoning – I could see why we want to avoid giving out narcotics. Pain can often be eased with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. I have noticed that MOST children have higher threshold for pain. What if a bad accident happens – a burn, a bone needs reset, or and I&D? What if the child needs more and the parents refuse, because they “do not want their child hook on those medications.”Yet untreated or inadequately treated pain can harm children, both immediately and in the long term. It can also affect their development, their reactions to future painful experiences, and may cause post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s definitely a fine line we are walking for comfort. I believe there are definitely more than one way to treat pain and all methods should be explored before just handing over pain medications.
I do agree that all methods should be explored to treat pain! I think each case is individualized. Sometimes narcotics cannot be avoided, but if we can avoid giving them out, we hopefully can avoid some of the overdoses or poisonings.