🩺 Pain Assessment & Management

• Gold standard for pain → Self-report (patient is best source).
• Initial acute pain med → Acetaminophen first, safer than NSAIDs.
• Non-verbal adults → Use CPOT, not FACES.
• PQRST → "I" = Intensity (measures severity).
• Pain tools → Measure intensity, not tolerance.
• Chronic pain → Avoid continuous high-dose opioids, use PT, CBT, relaxation.
• Pain is subjective → Always based on patient perception.

🧾 Wound Care

• Heavy drainage → Use Alginate, not transparent film.
• Perfusion check → Pulses most reliable, not cap refill.
• Wound cultures → Only if infection suspected, not all wounds.
• MMPs → Break down damaged tissue for remodeling, don’t make collagen.
• TIME framework → For systematic wound bed prep, not healing time.
• Infection signs → Pain, redness, foul odor, friable tissue, breakdown.

🦵 Vascular & Circulation

• PAD risks → Smoking, Diabetes, Hypertension (not exercise or diet).
• Lymphedema → Non-pitting + fibrosis, not pitting.
• Arterial ulcers → Painful, pale, well-defined; NOT at pressure points.

🛏️ Pressure Ulcers & Healing

• Repositioning → Every 1–2 hours, not every 30 min.
• Healing impairment → Diabetes, malnutrition, smoking, stress (hydration helps, not harms).
• Wound cleaning → From least → most contaminated, prevents dragging bacteria.

📌 Quick Memory Hooks

• Pain → PQRST = Provocation, Quality, Region, Severity/Intensity, Timing
• PAD Risks → "SHD" = Smoking, Hypertension, Diabetes
• Wound Healing Needs → "MNT" = Moisture, Nutrition, Time (repositioning)
• Infection Signs → "PRoOF" = Pain ↑, Redness spread, Odor, Friable tissue