Multimodal analgesia in critical care

Abstract: Pain is one of the most common patient complaints in the critical care setting. Multimodal analgesia is increasingly supported by scientific evidence and should be the preferred mechanism for addressing pain with a combination of opioid, nonopioid, and adjuvant analgesics, and nonpharmacologic interventions. This article reviews the problems associated with monomodal analgesic administration, evidence-based methods for adequately assessing pain and implementing interventions, the use of multimodal pharmacology, complementary and alternative medicine, and nursing considerations for patients with acute pain.