Addressing Peripheral Neuropathy Among the Elderly

Addressing Peripheral Neuropathy among the Elderly Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code and Title Instructor’s Name Due Date
Addressing Peripheral Neuropathy among the Elderly
Healthcare technology, community resources, and coordination of care can be applied in various ways to address peripheral neuropathy (PN) in the elderly. Adequate community resources, appropriate healthcare technologies, and care coordination prevent adverse medication effects associated with PN pharmacological management. A 2-hour meeting with the 73-year-old neighbor with PN and his wife revealed that the inter-professional healthcare team at the local health facility had portrayed excellent care coordination. The wife reported that the man uses medication and lifestyle modification habits for PN management. Telehealth is appropriate in the man's case since the wife reported that the man's temperature, blood sugar, and pressure are frequently monitored using a thermometer, glucometer, and blood pressure cuff while at home. She reported that religious institutions and wellness programs in the community help the man cope with his depression. In addition, she said that the community's good transport infrastructure efficiently helps them travel to the health facility.
Healthcare Technologies
Pain associated with PN can be effectively managed using healthcare technologies. Potential side effects of PN medications necessitate using healthcare technology to enhance quality care. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) technology is significantly used to enhance effective treatment and prevent adverse effects of PN medication (Kaye et al., 2021). The healthcare technology includes spiral-coiled electrical leads, which directly apply current to prevent pain in the peripheral nerves (Kaye et al., 2021). PNS is a non-pharmacologic pain therapy used alongside other pain management strategies such as physical therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and epidural steroid injections (Kaye et al., 2021). TENS is a non-pharmacological technological intervention that directs pulsed alternating current on the skin using electrodes to treat pain in PN (Vance et al., 2022). The method is inexpensive and safe since it does not cause adverse side effects
Multiple studies have shown that PNS improves the quality of life by relieving pain. However, some studies have indicated that PNS has various limitations. Kaye et al. (2021) reported that the first study conducted in 1967 regarding PNS reflected pain relief after a sustained electrical stimulation for two minutes. The investigators reported better sleep, increased capacity to work, reduced opioid requirement, reduced pain, and improved depressive symptoms among the PN participants. PNS enhances pain relief while withdrawing irritating stimuli for pain management, such as vibration, heat, and ice (Kaye et al., 2021). Besides the PNS benefit of improving disability and pain control, the PNS devices’ sizes permit elderly patients to wear small pulse generators comfortably. It is much better than carrying local anesthetic reservoirs or attaching infusion pumps to the patients to manage pain (Kaye et al., 2021). Moreover, PNS does not induce motor and sensory blockade, unlike continuous infusion of local anesthetic. Continuous infusion procedures have a higher likelihood of infections and are more costly and invasive than PNS (Kaye et al., 2021). PNS is safe and does not expose elderly patients with PN to systemic adverse effects of opioid medications (Al Khalili & M Das, 2022). Vance et al. (2022) systemic review revealed TENS effectiveness in relieving pain. One hundred seventy-three PN patients in five studies reported reduced pain and reduced costs after using TENS technology.
Nevertheless, various contraindications and limitations are associated with PNS for pain management in patients with PN. One of the primary limitations of the PNS procedure is that it causes infections at the site of the lead placement stimulator (Al Khalili & M Das, 2022). It can cause hematoma formation, particularly in PN patients with an active bleeding disorder. Research conducted by Al Khalili and M Das (2022) revealed nerve injury and surgical site pain besides bleeding and infections in participants that underwent the PNS procedure. In addition, device-related complications such as device malfunction, lead fracture, and migration of the lead stimulator were reported (Al Khalili & M Das, 2022). Vance et al. (2022) systemic review reported that a clinical practice study was against TENS for managing certain pains such as knee osteoarthritis, low back pain, and post-operative total knee arthroplasty. Nonetheless, the systemic review reported that TENS effectively managed PN-related pain.
This evidence related to PNS healthcare technology is consistent with the technology used during the nursing practice. PN elderly patients undergo a PNS procedure where electrical lead stimulation relieves pain. The procedure minimizes using multiple drugs or anesthesia to relieve pain. Consequently, patients experience better health outcomes with minimized pain and side effects associated with opioid use. However, some patients experience surgical site pain, bleeding, and infections at the site of the lead placement stimulator following the procedure. Potential barriers associated with PNS healthcare technology in PN management include inadequate training for the physician performing the procedure (Al Khalili & M Das, 2022). Moreover, since PNS is best applicable when there is an inter-professional team, specialists like specialty pain personnel, anesthesiologists, neuroscience nurses, and neurologists may lack in local facilities. The method would thus be inappropriate in local clinical settings. In addition, it is costly to hire all the needed PNS specialists to ensure effective treatment.
Coordination of Care and the use of Community Resources
Community resources are institutions, people, activities, things, or places. Health, religious, and financial institutions, technology and information ...