EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PATIENT SATISFACTION IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN KOLKATA, INDIA.

Introduction: Pain is one of the most common complaints for which people come to the Emergency Department (ED). To achieve satisfactory treatment of pain, the clinician must first recognize and assess the pain. Methods: We conducted a prospective single centre study on 325 patients, who presented during the study period with acute painful conditions. We assessed pain aetiologies, patient pain experiences, pain management practices, and patient satisfaction with pain management. Results: Out of the 325 study subjects 49.2% reported high pain intensity levels on presentation, with a mean rating of 7.24 on a 10-point numerical rating scale (NRS). The initial pain score recorded by the patient was a significantly higher compared to the nurses and Emergency Physicians pain judgement (p<0.001). After receiving analgesia, pain severity had decreased to a mean rating of 3.24 but was again significantly higher by the patient than the mean score of health care personnel (p<0.001). Most of the patients n = 197 (60.6%) were satisfied with the pain management in the ED. 20.9% of the patients remained neutral with their comments, whereas 18.5% were dissatisfied. In 93.8% of the dissatisfied patients, the reason was inadequate pain relief. Only 3.1% were dissatisfied due to side-effects of the medications. Conclusion: In our study we found that the initial pain score recorded by the patients were significantly higher than the nurses and physicians. However, most of the patients were satisfied with the pain management in the ED. Our study demonstrates the importance of adequate pain management in ED.