[Pain treatment in the emergency department: what do patients think?].

BACKGROUND

Pain on admission, especially after trauma, is the most common complaint (over 80%) of patients in the emergency department. During a four-week period, an anonymous, voluntary survey on the quality of pain management was conducted among adult patients reporting to the emergency department.

METHODS

Five hundred questionnaires were distributed during admission, and 260 were returned. Patients were asked about localisation and severity of pain (NRS - Numerical Rating Scale), the quality and speed of assistance in the emergency department, and the effectiveness of analgesia.

RESULTS

Ninety percent of patients reported pain of varying intensity. The median pain scores on admission were 5.2, 7.3 during management, and 3.8 on discharge. Over 90% of patients were questioned about pain, but only 20% received some medication. Nevertheless, 80% of those surveyed were satisfied, and there was no correlation between the severity of pain and administration of analgesics. Fifty percent of patients received analgesics for home use, and 66% were instructed about further treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the frequency and intensity of pain, analgesics were rarely offered in the emergency department. A surprisingly high level of satisfaction was reported, despite suboptimal pain management. This indicates either that non-pharmacologic methods of pain treatment play an important role, or that the severity of pain is overestimated by patients.