Elisavet Papathanassoglou: ICU Pain - are you really doing the right thing by your patient?

The aim of this lecture is to enhance knowledge on the use of pain assessment tools in the ICU, and on the clinical significance of systematic pain assessment, and to promote understanding of how the neural circuitry of nociception perpetuates increased pain levels in critically ill patients. The majority of critically ill patients experience moderate to severe pain. Pain may also persist after ICU discharge and shift to chronic pain, and is also implicated in the post-intensive care syndrome. Despite guidelines, implementation and use of validated tools to assess pain in routine ICU practice appears to be inconsistent.