Pharmacology of Pain Management at the End-of-Life
CE Information
3.0 CE credits (3.0 pharmacology)Completion Time
3 hours, 9 minutesAvailable Until
December 31, 2025Posted By
PESI
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Overview
Subspecialties
Pain ManagementClinical Topics
Pain and PharmacologyAssessment and management of pain at the end of life are complex issues that deeply affect a patient’s quality of life. With a stronger understanding of essential pain management principles, caregivers can help provide comfort and solace to dying patients.
Research shows up to 57% of patients report moderate or severe pain in their last month, and 23% experience uncontrolled pain in their final week. Unrelieved pain not only causes profound suffering but also disrupts patients’ ability to complete important end-of-life tasks. Effective pain management is both a patient’s right and a clinician’s duty.
A key factor in achieving adequate relief is thorough knowledge of pain medications. Failure to treat pain properly often stems from insufficient training or fear of breaching ethical, moral, or legal boundaries. Clinicians may overestimate the risk of hastening death with opioids and misunderstand the role of sedation in managing intractable pain, anxiety, delirium, and sleep disturbances.
This presentation will cover the latest pharmacologic strategies for end-of-life pain treatment. Beyond exploring opioid pharmacology, we will review the roles of NSAIDs, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants. We will also highlight the importance of recognizing drug interactions and organ failure considerations in end-of-life care.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the stepwise progression in pain management at the end of life.
- State at least two indications for initiating opioids at the end of life.
- Discriminate the medications for breakthrough pain when opioids are not effective for pain control.
- Identify at least two medications that are used for intractable pain.
- List at least two medications that can be used to aid sleep for the patient at the end of life.
Speakers
Paul Langlois, APN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, is a critical care clinical specialist in the surgical, medical, neurologic, burn, CCU, and trauma ICUs of Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Drawing on over 40 years of experience assessing and managing patients with life-threatening diseases, Dr. Langlois provides advanced-level training to nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and physicians. Dr. Langlois is committed to providing the highest quality of care to patients through advanced education. His presentations are evidence-based, timely, and provide participants with numerous case studies to facilitate critical thinking. As a bedside clinical nurse specialist, he has developed several institution-wide protocols for the multidisciplinary assessment and management of infectious disease and multi-system organ failure patients. His presentations are enthusiastically delivered and offer highly practical tips that help make the most challenging concepts easy to understand. Linking knowledge to clinical practice is the goal of every educational program.
CE Information
This activity offers 3.0 CE credits (3.0 pharmacology) to attendees.
Accredited by ANCC, ACCME.
Credit eligibility by state, board, and more information can be found here: Pharmacology of Pain Management at the End-of-Life
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