Pain relief in the emergency room, are we doing it right?

Introduction : It is generally accepted that the treatment of pain in emergency rooms remains unsatisfactory. Objective of our study was to determine patient satisfaction regarding pain management in the emergency room at the Aga Khan University Hospital. Methodology : A cross-sectional observational study approved from ethical committee. Patients admitted in the emergency room were interviewed by one of the authors. Data analysis was done using SPSS, version 6.0; p value < 0.05 was taken as significant. Results : 385 patients were studied. 215 (55.8%) patients complained of pain on admission. 54.7% of patients suffered from pain for < 1 hour, 28.5% suffered for 1-2 hours and 16.8% suffered for > 2 hours. VAS was high on admission (mean 6.18 and SD 1.94) while after treatment it went down to an average of 2.75 and SD 1.66, P < 0.001. Patient satisfaction from pain management was excellent in only 18.2%, satisfactory in 61.2% and unsatisfactory in 20.6%. Conclusion : Majority of patients received inadequate analgesia, yet they were satisfied with their pain management. This may be due to our deep rooted cultural beliefs that suffering from pain is part of the disease process and is unavoidable. We recommend that practice guidelines be established for the treatment of pain and pain management be given a high priority in emergency medicine curriculum.