TY - JOUR
T1 - ASSESSING DISCOMFORT IN AMERICAN ADULT INTENSIVE CARE PATIENTS
AU - Gunnels, Marshall S.
AU - Reisdorf, Emily M.
AU - Mandrekar, Jayawant
AU - Chlan, Linda L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
PY - 2024/3
Y1 - 2024/3
N2 - Background While in the intensive care unit, critically ill patients experience a myriad of distressing symptoms and stimuli leading to discomfort, a negative emotional and/ or physical state that arises in response to noxious stimuli. Appropriate management of these symptoms requires a distinct assessment of discomfort-causing experiences. Objectives To assess patient-reported discomfort among critically ill patients with the English-language version of the Inconforts des Patients de REAnimation questionnaire, and to explore relationships between demographic and clinical characteristics and overall discomfort score on this instrument. Methods This study had a cross-sectional, descriptive, single-cohort design. The convenience sample consisted of alert and oriented patients aged 18 years or older who had been admitted to intensive care units at a Midwestern tertiary referral hospital and were invited to participate. An 18-item questionnaire on physiological and psychological stimuli inducing discomfort was administered once. Each item was scored from 0 to 10, with the total possible discomfort score ranging from 0 to 100. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze participants’ demographic and clinical characteristics and questionnaire responses. Results A total of 180 patients were enrolled. The mean (SD) overall discomfort score was 32.9 (23.6). The greatest sources of discomfort were sleep deprivation (mean [SD] score, 4.0 [3.4]), presence of perfusion catheters and tubing (3.4 [2.9]), thirst (3.0 [3.3]), and pain (3.0 [3.0]). Conclusions Intensive care unit patients in this study reported mild to moderate discomfort. Additional research is needed to design and test interventions based on assessment of specific discomfort-promoting stimuli to provide effective symptom management.
AB - Background While in the intensive care unit, critically ill patients experience a myriad of distressing symptoms and stimuli leading to discomfort, a negative emotional and/ or physical state that arises in response to noxious stimuli. Appropriate management of these symptoms requires a distinct assessment of discomfort-causing experiences. Objectives To assess patient-reported discomfort among critically ill patients with the English-language version of the Inconforts des Patients de REAnimation questionnaire, and to explore relationships between demographic and clinical characteristics and overall discomfort score on this instrument. Methods This study had a cross-sectional, descriptive, single-cohort design. The convenience sample consisted of alert and oriented patients aged 18 years or older who had been admitted to intensive care units at a Midwestern tertiary referral hospital and were invited to participate. An 18-item questionnaire on physiological and psychological stimuli inducing discomfort was administered once. Each item was scored from 0 to 10, with the total possible discomfort score ranging from 0 to 100. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze participants’ demographic and clinical characteristics and questionnaire responses. Results A total of 180 patients were enrolled. The mean (SD) overall discomfort score was 32.9 (23.6). The greatest sources of discomfort were sleep deprivation (mean [SD] score, 4.0 [3.4]), presence of perfusion catheters and tubing (3.4 [2.9]), thirst (3.0 [3.3]), and pain (3.0 [3.0]). Conclusions Intensive care unit patients in this study reported mild to moderate discomfort. Additional research is needed to design and test interventions based on assessment of specific discomfort-promoting stimuli to provide effective symptom management.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85186355242&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85186355242&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4037/ajcc2024362
DO - 10.4037/ajcc2024362
M3 - Article
C2 - 38424019
AN - SCOPUS:85186355242
SN - 1062-3264
VL - 33
SP - 126
EP - 132
JO - American Journal of Critical Care
JF - American Journal of Critical Care
IS - 2
ER -