Prevalence of Pain and Its Characteristics in Hospitalized Patients in an Indian Teaching Hospital.

BACKGROUND

Pain has a great impact on the physical and mental condition of hospitalized patients, reduces quality of life, and increases economic burden.

AIMS

The study aimed to determine pain prevalence, its characteristics, analgesic treatment, and associated factors for severity and chronicity of pain in hospitalized patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out including 847 eligible adult in-patients, aged ≥18 years, admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India, from June to August 2018. Pain severity was evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS) at the time of interview and after 1 week/completion of pain treatment.

RESULTS

The prevalence of pain during the 24 hours preceding the interview was 70.6%. The duration of pain was ≥4 weeks in 162 (27.1%) patients and severe (VAS ≥ 7) in 144 (24.1%) patients. The mean VAS score was 6.27 ± 1.97 at the time of interview and 3.31 ± 1.89 after 1 week/completion of pain treatment (p < .001). Use of opioid analgesics (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.18; confidence interval [CI]: 2.23-4.55) was significantly related to pain severity, whereas patients ≥60 years (aOR: 1.64; CI: 0.99-2.70), patients in a nonsurgical ward (aOR: 1.78; CI: 1.21-2.60), and patients using opioid analgesics (aOR: 2.63; CI: 1.73-3.98) had prolonged pain, defined as ≥4 weeks.

CONCLUSION

Pain prevalence and intensity in this Indian hospital were high and pain treatment was adequate in many cases. Timely assessment and appropriate management of pain in hospitalized patients is needed to prevent further pain and its complications in these patients.