Assessment and Management of Acute Pain. Treatment Algorithm.

[Return to box #10 "Determine mechanism of pain" on previous page]

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Source: Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI). Assessment and management of acute pain. Bloomington (MN): Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI); 2008 Mar. 58 p. Assessment and Management of Acute Pain Treatment Algorithm Algorithm boxes #14-16 list treatments in alphabetical order Somatic pain treatment: *Acetaminophen. *Cold packs. *Corticosteroids. *Local anesthetic (topical or infiltration). *NSAIDs. *Opioids (via any route). *Tactile stimulation. A Visceral pain treatment: *Corticosteroids. *Intraspinal local anesthetic agents. *NSAIDs. *Opioids (via any route). A Neuropathic pain treatment: *Anticonvulsants. *Corticosteroids. *Neural blockade. *NSAIDs. *Opioids (via any route). *Tricyclic antidepressants. A Select an alternate treatment choice See ICSI Chronic Pain guideline and/or consider referral to pain specialist Has pain persisted greater than 6 weeks? Prevention/intervention: *Patient education. *Pharmacologic therapy. *Specialty consult (if indicated). *Intervention/surgical procedures. *Non-pharmacologic approaches. A Return to box #10 "Determine mechanism of pain" on previous page Still confident of pain mechanism? Adequate pain relief? Intolerable symptoms secondary to treatment? A Side effect management. A A = Annotation Follow-up/reassess. A All copyrights are reserved by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, Inc.