SOCRATES (pain assessment)

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SOCRATES is a mnemonic acronym used by emergency medical services, physicians, nurses, and other health professionals to evaluate the nature of pain that a patient is experiencing.

Contents

Uses

SOCRATES is used to gain an insight into the patient's condition, and to allow the health care provider to develop a plan for dealing with it. [1] [2] It can be useful for differentiating between nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain. [3]

Adverse effects

SOCRATES only focuses on the physical effects of pain, and ignores the social and emotional effects of pain. [4]

Procedure

SOCRATES [1] [2]
LetterAspectExample Questions
SSiteWhere is the pain? Or the maximal site of the pain.
OOnsetWhen did the pain start, and was it sudden or gradual? Include also whether it is progressive or regressive.
CCharacterWhat is the pain like? An ache? Stabbing?
R Radiation Does the pain radiate anywhere?
AAssociationsAny other signs or symptoms associated with the pain?
TTime courseDoes the pain follow any pattern?
EExacerbating / relieving factorsDoes anything change the pain?
SSeverityHow bad is the pain?

History

SOCRATES is often poorly used by health care providers. [5] Although pain assessments usually cover many or most of the aspects, they rarely included all 8 aspects. [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Clayton, Holly A.; Reschak, Gary L. C.; Gaynor, Sandra E.; Creamer, Julie L. (December 2000). "A novel program to assess and manage pain". Medsurg Nursing. 9 (6): 318–312. PMID   11904868.
  2. 1 2 Swift, Amelia (1 October 2015). "The importance of assessing pain in adults". Nursing Times. 111 (41): 12–17. PMID   26647478 via Europe PMC.
  3. Schofield, Marcia; Shetty, Ashish; Spencer, Michael; Munglani, Rajesh (May 2014). "Pain Managment[sic]: Part 1". British Journal of Family Medicine. 2 (3).
  4. Gregory, Julie (2019-08-31). "Use of pain scales and observational pain assessment tools in hospital settings". Nursing Standard. 34 (9): 70–74. doi:10.7748/ns.2019.e11308. ISSN   0029-6570. PMID   31468952. S2CID   201675367.
  5. 1 2 Manna, Aditya; Sarkar, S. K.; Khanra, L. K. (2015-04-01). "PA1 An internal audit into the adequacy of pain assessment in a hospice setting". BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. 5 (Suppl 1): A19 –A20. doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2015-000906.61. ISSN   2045-435X. PMID   25960483. S2CID   206923364.