E-Learning course for nurses on pain assessment in patients unable to self-report.

Public hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, have recommended assessing pain in non-communicative inpatients by means of the Spanish version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia scale (PAINAD-Sp) since 2010; a modification for patients with neurologic disorders and cancer, PAINAD-Sp_Hosp, has also been validated. However, nurses are not routinely trained in the use of the scales. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge on pain assessment in nurses following an online training course. We surveyed participants prior to the course to determine baseline knowledge of pain and pain assessment. Course material included conceptual content on pain and practical videos demonstrating the scoring system for the PAINAD-Sp_Hosp scale. After completing the course, participants took a multiple choice quiz to test understanding of course content and a satisfaction survey to determine acceptability. Of the 836 nurses invited, 401 participated in the training course; 37.7% reported having no previous specific training on pain, and just 32.2% used the PAINAD-Sp scale regularly. Following the course, virtually all (99%) of the participants passed the quiz. Overall satisfaction among nurses with regard to the training received was 8.6/10. Thus, the e-learning course was effective and acceptable for training nurses on pain assessment using validated tools.

Impact of a Training Intervention on the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) Scale in Noncommunicative Inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Public hospitals in Catalonia (Spain) recommend using the Spanish version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD-Sp) scale for assessing pain in adult patients unable to self-report. However, since its inclusion in Catalonian nursing care plans in 2010, there have been no training programs for nurses, contributing to its current underuse. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a nurse training intervention on the PAINAD-Sp scale in noncommunicative inpatients unable to self-report. DESIGN: Before-after study. SETTINGS: Two public hospitals in Catalonia (Spain). PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS: Four hundred and one nurses participated in the training course and 219 patients received PAINAD-Sp assessments. METHODS: We used a before-after study design, evaluating the use of the PAINAD-Sp scale over two 6-month periods before and after an online training intervention for nurses in February 2017, in two public hospitals. Data were collected from patient records in each center. The primary outcome was the number of patients receiving PAINAD-Sp assessments during admission. Secondary outcomes were the number of assessments undertaken per patient during admission, the total (0-10) and item-specific (0-2) PAINAD-Sp score, and pharmacologic treatment administered. RESULTS: There were 401 nurses who took part in the training program. Over the study period, 219 patients received PAINAD-Sp assessments: 29 in the preintervention period and 190 in the postintervention period (p < .001). Administration of analgesics and antipyretics decreased (p < .001) after the intervention, whereas use of hypnotic drugs and sedatives increased. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretical and practical training may be an effective way to improve nurses' approach to identifying, assessing, and managing pain in patients unable to self-report.

Validation of the Spanish Version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia Scale (PAINAD-Sp) in Hospitalized Patients with Neurologic Disorders and Oncologic Patients Unable to Self-Report Their Pain.

BACKGROUND: Pain has a significant impact on hospitalized patients and is a quality indicator for nursing care. The Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) scale measures pain in people with communication disorders and advanced dementia, but it has not been validated in any other population. AIMS: The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version (PAINAD-Sp) in hospitalized patients with neurologic disorders and in end-of-life cancer patients with difficulty self-reporting. DESIGN: The study had two phases: (1) analysis of the content by a committee of experts and (2) a cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: We collected phase 2 data from January 2017 to December 2017 in four hospitals in Barcelona: Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, and Hospital de Bellvitge. PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS: We included all adults who had either a neurological disorder affecting language or an oncological disease with an end-of-life prognosis and difficulty self-reporting pain. We excluded patients with a diagnosis of dementia. METHODS: The cross-sectional study included 325 patients who were simultaneously evaluated by two observers both at rest and in movement. We analyzed psychometric properties in terms of construct validity, reliability, and sensitivity to change. RESULTS: We obtained Cronbach α > .70 in both situations and an inter-rater reliability of 0.80. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the model adjusted adequately to a unidimensional structure. In terms of sensitivity to change, the mean difference was greater in movement than at rest (difference in means was 1.15). CONCLUSIONS: The PAINAD-Sp_Hosp scale had good psychometric qualities in terms of validity and reliability in neurology and oncology patients unable to self-report pain.

Reported Prestroke Physical Activity Is Associated with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression and Good Outcomes after Stroke.

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity (PhA) prior to stroke has been associated with good outcomes after the ischemic insult, but there is scarce data on the involved molecular mechanisms. METHODS: We studied consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients admitted to a single tertiary stroke center. Prestroke PhA was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (metabolic equivalent of minutes/week). We studied several circulating angiogenic and neurogenic factors at different time points: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) at admission, day 7, and at 3 months. We considered good functional outcome at 3 months (modified Rankin scale ≤ 2) as primary end point, and final infarct volume as secondary outcome. RESULTS: We studied 83 patients with at least 2 time point serum determinations (mean age 69.6 years, median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale 17 at admission). Patients more physically active before stroke had a significantly higher increment of serum VEGF on the seventh day when compared to less active patients. This increment was an independent predictor of good functional outcome at 3 months and was associated with smaller infarct volume in multivariate analyses adjusted for relevant covariates. We did not find independent associations of G-CSF or BDNF levels neither with level of prestroke PhA nor with stroke outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are probably more molecular mechanisms by which PhA exerts its beneficial effects in stroke outcomes, our observation regarding the potential role of VEGF is plausible and in line with previous experimental studies. Further research in this field is needed.

Comparison of elevated intracranial pressure pulse amplitude and disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space (DESH) for prediction of surgical results in suspected idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

BACKGROUND: To compare the prognostic value of pulse amplitude on intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring and disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus (DESH) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for predicting surgical benefit after shunt placement in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). METHOD: Patients with suspected iNPH were prospectively recruited from a single centre. All patients received preoperative MRI and ICP monitoring. Patients were classified as shunt responders if they had an improvement of one point or more on the NPH score at 1 year post-surgery. The sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, and positive and negative predictive values of the two diagnostic methods were calculated. RESULTS: Sixty-four of 89 patients clinically improved at 1 year post-surgery and were classed as shunt responders. Positive DESH findings had a sensitivity of 79.4 % and specificity of 80.8 % for predicting shunt responders. Fifty-five of 89 patients had positive DESH findings: 50 of these responded to VP shunt, giving a positive and negative predictive value of 90.9 % and 61.8 %, respectively. Fifty-seven of 89 patients had high ICP pulse amplitude. High ICP pulse amplitude had a sensitivity of 84.4 %, specificity of 88 %, positive predictive value of 94.7 % and negative predictive value of 61.8 % for predicting shunt responders. CONCLUSIONS: Both positive DESH findings and high ICP pulse amplitude support the diagnosis of iNPH and provide additional diagnostic value for predicting shunt-responsive patients; however, high ICP amplitude was more accurate than positive DESH findings, although it is an invasive test.