[Analgesia as an important component of emergency care]

Abstract

Besides protection of vital functions, pain treatment is one of the fundamental tasks in emergency care. However, in emergency situations patients frequently do not receive any pain treatment at all or, despite high pain intensities, treatment remains insufficient. There are various reasons for inadequate prehospital analgesia: fear of side effects, underestimation of the duration of emergency care, and concern about impeding diagnostic analysis are the most frequently stated motives. Thereby one should not disregard that pain has several negative effects on the patient that should be avoided. In this article the basics of preclinical analgesia are shown and concepts presented that should help the emergency physician to accomplish adequate analgesia in an emergency situation.