Roadblock to recovery: the surgical stress response.

Inadequately managed post-operative pain and the resulting surgical stress response (SSR) negatively affect patient outcomes. Critical care nurses need to understand that adequate pain management is critical to enabling patient recovery. A review of the physiology and pathophysiology of the SSR provides concrete evidence to substantiate the need for critical care nurses to prioritize nursing care that focuses on the prevention, early detection, and management of pain and the surgical stress response. Critical care nurses equipped with this evidence are capable of improving patient outcomes.