An emergency department's analysis of pain management patterns

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify at triage, patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) in pain, and to analyse the ED's pain management response to those presentations. Seventy seven (77) subjects participated in the study, with a total of one hundred and fifty four (154) pain score measurements being acquired. Statistically there was a weak relationship between triage code and the delivery of pain relief with a correlation of 0.3663. The average time to analgesia was 85.5 minutes and the standard deviation was 76.8 minutes. Further research is needed to identify the pain level at which intervention is necessary to control pain and the development of standing orders to facilitate nurse initiated analgesia. Also, the health care worker's perception of pain and the process of pain management in the ED requires further research.