Attention all surgeons
I am speaking as a retired RN with a 50-year nursing career, and I am asking you to please reconsider a practice that is causing entirely preventable pain and suffering.
When prescribing narcotic pain medication after surgery, please order a laxative and stool softener at the same time — and make them routine medications rather than PRN orders.
Constipation is a well-known and predictable side effect of opioid medications. It should not come as a surprise after surgery, nor should patients have to suffer severe discomfort or return to the emergency department because they cannot have a bowel movement.
This is not an occasional problem. I would not be raising this issue if I had not seen it occur repeatedly. Patients who have just undergone surgery should not have to endure additional pain and distress because a simple, preventative measure was left to chance.
As nurses, we were taught to anticipate complications and prevent them whenever possible. Why aren’t we consistently doing that with opioid-induced constipation?
Yes, I realize hospitals are businesses and that emergency-department visits generate revenue. But surely patient comfort, safety and prevention should take precedence over the financial interests of healthcare corporations.
After 50 years in nursing, I find this practice extremely frustrating. Enough is enough.
Please don’t wait for patients to develop a preventable problem. If you prescribe narcotics, please prescribe appropriate bowel-management medication.