Impact of a program to improve pain management in an emergency department

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of various actions in the management of pain in a pediatric hospital emergency department. This is an observational study, preaction (phase 1) and postaction (phase 2), with two cohorts of patients diagnosed with abdominal pain, chest pain, and severe headache. Between the two phases, various actions were carried out (distribution of pain assessment scales and a new guide for the management of pain, and the holding of clinical training sessions). Three hundred patients were included in the study, with an average age of 9 years and average evolution time of pain of 20 h. Pain assessment in phases 1 and 2 was 30 and 99.3%, respectively. Analgesics were administered to 23% (phase 1) and 38.6% (phase 2) of the patients with pain. No side-effects from the analgesics given were recorded. In conclusion, the various actions carried out yielded an improvement in pain management, especially in its assessment. European Journal of Emergency Medicine 17: 110-112 (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.