• Samer Metri, Robert Shesser, and Ali Pourmand.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, United States. Electronic address: smetri@gwu.edu.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2023 Jan 1; 63: 177.e1177.e4177.e1-177.e4.

AbstractChronic pain conditions are among the most common complaints seen in the emergency department (ED). Exacerbations of these conditions are often approached as one would an acute painful condition, with liberal use of imaging, labs, and analgesics. This patient population is often prescribed short courses of opioids without a definite explanation for their painful episodes and often leave the ED dissatisfied with their experience. We describe a patient with a history of chronic abdominal pain who presented to the ED with an exacerbation of his pain. Upon further review of his previous records, we noted that this patient experienced many similar events, resulting in 46 imaging studies over the past year. At this point, the patient was given the Central Sensitization Inventory, and his score demonstrated severe underlying central sensitization. The patient was counseled about his condition and provided with appropriate follow-up care.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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