• Frank-Peter Stephan, Christian H Nickel, Jaqueline S Martin, Daniela Grether, Karen Delport-Lehnen, and Roland Bingisser.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
• Swiss Med Wkly. 2010 Jun 12;140(23-24):341-7.

ObjectivesAlthough pain is one of the most common presenting complaints in the Emergency Department (ED), pain management is often inadequate. Pain management protocols have been shown to be useful. The objective of this study was to assess the adherence to an already implemented pain management protocol in an urban ED.MethodsSecondary analysis of a prospective single centre cohort study on patient preferences for analgesia in the ED. Patient charts were reviewed with a focus on selection, timing and dosage of analgesics according to a visual analogue scale (VAS) on arrival and during the ED stay.ResultsThree hundred and thirty-seven patient charts were reviewed. The adherence to the implemented pain management protocol was 42% at the time of initial evaluation and 43% during the course of therapy in all patients. Forty-two percent of the study population were discharged with at least moderate pain. However, 43% of the patients discharged with pain did not request analgesics.ConclusionsThe benefits of pain management protocols are proven. However, adherence to these protocols needs to be monitored regularly in order to optimise pain management.

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