Pain management in the emergency department: results from an observational longitudinal prospective study in a second-level urban hospital


Submitted: 3 February 2020
Accepted: 18 May 2020
Published: 31 August 2020
Abstract Views: 1923
PDF: 468
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

  • Anna Giulia Falchi Emergency Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Italy.
  • Anna Spadoni Emergency Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Italy.
  • Chiara Blatti Emergency Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Italy.
  • Federica Manzoni Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry Unit, Scientific Direction, San Matteo Hospital Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
  • Stefano Perlini Emergency Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Italy.

Although a correct assessment of pain and an adequate analgesia represent a priority in the setting of emergency care, many studies documented an inadequate pain control. The purpose of our study is to characterize the present status of a second level Emergency Department in Italy in terms of pain assessment and treatment. Our survey investigates the multidimensional aspects of pain, the accomplishment of appropriate pain evaluation by the medical and nursing staff and the effectiveness of the treatment, in terms of pain reduction and also of customer satisfaction.


Savoia G, Coluzzi F, Di Maria C, Ambrosio F, Della Corte F, Oggioni R, et al. Italian Intersociety Recommendations on pain management in the emergency setting (SIAARTI, SIMEU, SIS 118, AISD, SIARED, SICUT, IRC). Minerva Anestesiol 2015; 81:205–25.

Wilson JE, Pendleton JM. Oligoanalgesia in the emergency department. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 1989; 7:620–3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0735-6757(89)90286-6

Tanabe P, Buschmann M. A prospective study of ED pain management practices and the patient’s perspective. Journal of Emergency Nursing 1999; 25:171–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1767(99)70200-X

Grant PS. Analgesia delivery in the ED. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 2006; 24:806–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2006.05.004

Todd KH, Ducharme J, Choiniere M, Crandall CS, Fosnocht DE, Homel P, et al. Pain in the Emergency Department: Results of the Pain and Emergency Medicine Initiative (PEMI) Multicenter Study. The Journal of Pain 2007;8:460–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2006.12.005

Stang AS, Hartling L, Fera C, Johnson D, Ali S. Quality Indicators for the Assessment and Management of Pain in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review. Pain Research and Management 2014; 19:e179–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/269140

Ritsema TS, Kelen GD, Pronovost PJ, Pham JC. The National Trend in Quality of Emergency Department Pain Management for Long Bone Fractures. Academic Emergency Medicine 2007; 14:163–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1197/j.aem.2006.08.015

Vazirani J, Knott JC. Mandatory Pain Scoring at Triage Reduces Time to Analgesia. Annals of Emergency Medicine 2012; 59:134-138.e2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2011.08.007

Lynch ME. The Need for a Canadian Pain Strategy. Pain Research and Management 2011; 16:77–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/654651

Breivik EK, Björnsson GA, Skovlund E. A Comparison of Pain Rating Scales by Sampling From Clinical Trial Data: The Clinical Journal of Pain 2000; 16:22–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00002508-200003000-00005

World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. JAMA 2013; 310:2191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281053

Von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. The Lancet 2007;370:1453–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61602-X

Shirley ED, Sanders JO. Measuring Quality of Care with Patient Satisfaction Scores: The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 2016;98:e83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.15.01216

International Narcotics Control Board. Narcotic Drugs. Estimated world requirements for 2005, statistics for 2003. New York: INCB, 2005.

The Medicines Utilisation Monitoring Centre. National Report on Medicines use in Italy. Year 2018. Rome: Italian Medicines Agency, 2019

Hatherley C, Jennings N, Cross R. Time to analgesia and pain score documentation best practice standards for the Emergency Department – A literature review. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal 2016; 19:26–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aenj.2015.11.001

Heilman JA, Tanski M, Burns B, Lin A, Ma J. Decreasing Time to Pain Relief for Emergency Department Patients with Extremity Fractures. BMJ Qual Improv Report 2016; 5:u209522.w7251. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjquality.u209522.w7251

Falchi, A. G., Spadoni, A., Blatti, C., Manzoni, F., & Perlini, S. (2020). Pain management in the emergency department: results from an observational longitudinal prospective study in a second-level urban hospital. Emergency Care Journal, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2020.8871

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations