Pain in the Critically Ill: A Voice for Those Without Words

Céline Gélinas, RN, PhD
Associate Professor, McGill University
Ingram School of Nursing

Assessing pain in critically ill patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit is challenging for the care team. During this presentation, I will describe the advancements in tools for pain assessment for critically ill patients who are unable to report their level of pain and the impact of these tools on clinical pain practices and patient outcomes. Challenges in pain assessment of brain-injured patients with an altered level of consciousness will also be discussed.