Pain Management: Ethical Issues Pain Management

The most ethical way to approach the pain management. Explanation.

It is acceptable as long as the patient understands the risks

Successful pain relief, particularly during patients' end-of-life (EOL) phase, is a key ethical duty based on the values of patient autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and, chiefly, the double effect concept. Pain management's practical groundwork starts with comprehensive evaluation, which integrates "WILDA" (i.e., Words, Intensity of pain, Location, Duration, and alleviating / aggravating factors) and takes into account overall pain elements: i.e., physical, spiritual, emotional and social pain. Opioids represent pain management's pharmacologic necessity in case of life-limiting disease, and must be administered or prescribed depending on pain severity, taking into consideration the psychological and functional significance of pain intensity. A number of misunderstandings act as obstacles to successful pain management. These misunderstandings include: the notion that opioid tolerance or dependence constitutes a form of drug addiction, that they are extremely addictive drugs, that their therapeutic range is narrow, that they are commonly linked to respiratory depression, and that their intake through the mouth is ineffective and causes nausea. Practically, they are the best and safest pain medication for much...

Fundamental opioid pharmacology elements, like dosage, drug rotation, administration route, and avoidance of complications and toxicity, must be taken into account during therapy initiation and maintenance. Failure to focus on the principal rules can cause opioid management errors.
Application of principle-based ethics to the area of pain management is an easy task. For instance, if one considers application of the beneficence principle to the pain setting: pain relieving is good. Every individual wishes alleviation of their pain The non-maleficence or avoidance-of-harm principle can also be applied easily, as pain is detrimental on emotional, spiritual, social, and even physiological levels. Some contend that opioids by themselves are damaging. However, one seldom witnesses serious harm if they are utilized properly, especially in the context of life-limiting ailments. Application of the autonomy principle in this context shows that a patient is entitled to self-governance, but cannot exercise autonomy in health-related decisions when not educated adequately (the decision in this instance is improved pain control). Additionally, patients are unable to apply autonomy when their pain is very intense. In the given case study, the physical autonomy of the patient was restricted due to pain, as was the patient's emotional and spiritual autonomy, which was crushed by…