Pain Screening
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ONE EXCEPTION
One exception to our otherwise global recommendation applies to residents who are uncommunicative, or cannot communicate at all. Often, these residents are stroke victims or are in the final stage of Alzheimer's disease. With these residents, it's best to use an observational tool such as the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia, also known as PAINAD, which is a simple, valid five-item instrument for measuring pain in uncommunicative patients (12).
DO NOT, however, use the PAINAD to assess pain in patients who can communicate. This is a common but inappropriate use of the tool.
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