Association between pain control and patient satisfaction outcomes in the emergency department setting

Abstract

Objective: Pain management and patient satisfaction are key markers for health systems performance. There is a lack of consensus on the role of analgesia, its adequacy, and its links to patient satisfaction in the ED. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between adequacy of analgesia and patient satisfaction in the ED setting.

Methods: Consenting adult patients (n = 115) presenting to the ED with pain were enrolled, and their pain tracked throughout admission with 11 point numerical pain scores. Eleven point numerical scores were also utilised to measure satisfaction and compassion at the end of each ED stay. The primary outcome was patient satisfaction score ≥7.

Results: Of 115 enrolled patients, 94 (81.7%) were eligible for analysis. Median time to physician evaluation was 54.0 min (inter-quartile range [IQR] 35.0-98.0) and median ED length of stay was 205 min (IQR 129.0-280.0). Fifty-four patients (57.5%) received analgesia during their stay, of whom 36 (38.3%) had a significant response to analgesia (≥2 change in pain score). Median time to analgesia was 87.5 min (IQR 66.1-108.9). Patient satisfaction was inversely associated with male sex, and positively correlated (Spearman's rank correlation P < 0.05) with increasing age, significant change in pain score (±2) and compassion scores.

Conclusion: In the present study of patients presenting to the ED with pain, oligoanalgesia remains a significant issue. Male sex was inversely associated with satisfaction, whereas compassion, and significant change in pain score were associated with improved patient satisfaction. Of the factors analysed, staff compassion demonstrated the strongest correlation with satisfaction.

Keywords: analgesia; emergency medicine; oligoanalgesia; pain; satisfaction.