Feasibility of monomodal analgesia with IV alfentanil during burn dressing changes at bedside (in spontaneously breathing non-intubated patients).

INTRODUCTION: The severe pain related to repeated burn dressing changes at bedside is often difficult to manage. However these dressings can be performed at bedside on spontaneously breathing non-intubated patients using powerful intravenous opioids with a quick onset and a short duration of action such as alfentanil. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the protocol which is used in our burn unit for pain control during burn dressing changes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cohort study began after favorable opinion from local ethic committee has been collected. Patient's informed consent was collected. No fasting was required. Vital signs for patients were continuously monitored (non-invasive blood pressure, ECG monitoring, cutaneous oxygen saturation, respiratory rate) all over the process. Boluses of 500 (±250) mcg IV alfentanil were administered. A continuous infusion was added in case of insufficient analgesia. Adverse reactions were collected and pain intensity was measured throughout the dressing using a ten step verbal rating scale (VRS) ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain conceivable). RESULTS: 100 dressings (35 patients) were analyzed. Median age was 45 years and median burned area 10%. We observed 3 blood pressure drops, 5 oxygen desaturations (treated with stimulation without the necessity of ventilatory support) and one episode of nausea. Most of the patients (87%) were totally conscious during the dressing and 13% were awakened by verbal stimulation. Median total dose of alfentanil used was 2000µg for a median duration of 35min. Pain scores during the procedure were low or moderate (VRS mean=2.0 and maximal VRS=5). Median satisfaction collected 2h after the dressing was 10 on a ten step scale. CONCLUSION: Pain control with intravenous alfentanil alone is efficient and appears safe for most burn bedside repeated dressings in hospitalized patients. It achieves satisfactory analgesia during and after the procedure. It is now our standard analgesic method to provide repeated bedside dressings changes for burned patients.

Working time and workload of nurses: the experience of a burn center in a high income country.

We conducted a one-month study of the working time and workload of nurses in a 15 beds burn center (including 8 intensive care beds). Nurses' tasks were categorized according to their nature (medical care, local treatments, post anesthetic monitoring, administrative time related to health care, administrative time unrelated to health care, cleaning, rest). The time taken to complete a given task was measured for each task. The time devoted to walk and unavailable for patients care was also measured. Our study revealed that work distribution was far from optimal since administrative tasks occupy more than 30% of workload. This represents inefficiency and the literature shows that when time is saved from administrative work it is reinvested in health care. One third of the administrative tasks are unrelated to care and thus could be performed by non-specialized clerks. The other two third of the administrative workload are closely linked to care. An answer to reduce administrative time lost to care activities is the implementation of dedicated ICU software which carries several other advantages such as reducing the use of paper, improving the safety of prescriptions, automating repetitive and unrewarding tasks and saving physician time. This expensive solution can be quickly repaid through costs containment due to the time saved. A significant part of the working time is spent walking but reducing the ambulatory time may be considered only through structural improvements.