Inpatients Admitted with a Chief Complaint of Pain Have Lower In-Hospital Mortality: A Single-Center Study of 645,998 Inpatients

Abstract

BackgroundThe relationship between pain and mortality risk has not been well established. AimsThis study aimed to assess the possible association between a chief complaint of pain and in-hospital mortality. DesignRetrospective cohort study using 11-year hospital administrative data. SettingSouthwest Hospital of Third Military Medical University (Chongqing, China). ParticipantsA total of 645,998 adult inpatients admitted without department limitation between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2013. MethodsInformation on the chief complaint at admission was obtained, and the main outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. ResultsThe crude overall in-hospital mortality rate for patients admitted with chief complaint of pain was 958 (3.9%), which was significantly lower than that of patients without pain (1,970, 4.9%). The risk of hospital death for inpatients admitted with pain was 21% lower compared to inpatients admitted without pain (p < .001). Female patients with a chief complaint of pain had a lower risk of in-hospital mortality (p < .001) compared with male patients (p < .001). When stratified by location of pain, patients with chest pain had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared with those without complaint of pain (p < .001), whereas for patients with a chief complaint of waist, abdominal, limb, or joint pain, the risk of hospital death was lower compared with cases without pain. ConclusionsThe present study suggested that inpatients admitted with a chief complaint of pain might have a significantly lower risk of in-hospital mortality compared with those admitted without a chief complaint of pain.