The Role of the Emergency Department in Chronic Pain Treatment

Abstract

Patients suffering from chronic pain present frequently to emergency departments for acute and chronic pain issues. Chronic pain patients represent a distinct challenge for emergency physicians, who encounter significant barriers in providing appropriate pain management. Physician biases, lack of training in pain management, addiction risk, and patient behaviors frequently contribute to these difficulties. In order to provide appropriate care, emergency physicians need to address goals of management, make attempts to elucidate the underlying pathology or issues contributing to the acute exacerbation, and decide on pain management treatment. The treatment possibilities for acute exacerbations of chronic pain are multiple and include provision of opioid medications, non-opioid medications, and complimentary therapies. A clinical approach is presented to help provide a framework when approaching chronic pain patients in the emergency department with the aim to provide optimal care and minimize suffering to this patient population.