Intensive care

Prof. Peter Sackey MD. PhD.DESA.EDIC, Head of the Neuro Intensive Care unit, Karolinska University hospital, Stockholm:

“Acute pain remains a major problem in healthcare institutions, with both under-treatment and overtreatment leading to serious consequences, including increased risk of persistent pain states, impaired rehabilitation, prolonged length of stay and/or hospital readmission. Adverse events related to excessive analgesic use, such as over-sedation with respiratory depression and even death may also occur when pain and analgesia is poorly monitored and managed.

These adverse effects of poorly monitored and managed pain may be particularly common in hospitalised, poorly communicating adults and children. During their course of illness, they often undergo invasive diagnostic procedures that may be painful e.g. wound dressing, bone marrow aspiration, lumbar puncture, biopsies and arterial catheterization. The Skin Conductance Algesimeter (SCA) (Med-Storm Innovation) can easily be monitored continuously in the ICU in the same fashion as other monitoring methods, such as oxygen saturation and ECG, providing daily information as to the well-being of these vulnerable patients.

There is an unmet need for consistent and quantifiable pain assessment and treatment, which is mandated by the recommendations of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in the US and of similar bodies in Europe. I believe that the SCA has potential to contribute as a tool in poorly communicating patients in the complex area of pain monitoring and management.”

Phone: +46 70-771 03 64
Email: peter.sackey@ki.se