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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery
Published on: April 14, 2016
Changes in heart rate do not correlate with changes in pain intensity in emergency department patients
Philip Bossart1, Dave Fosnocht, Eric Swanson
1Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Utah Hospital, Salt Lake City, USA.
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to determine the correlation, if any, between change in heart rate (HR) and change in pain in Emergency Department (ED) patients. This was a prospective, observational study of a convenience sample of patients presenting to an academic ED with pain. Heart rate and pain intensity (using a 100-mm visual analog scale) were determined at time of triage, 30 min post pain treatment, and at discharge. The correlation between change in HR and change in pain was determined using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Nine hundred seventy-five patients were enrolled in the study. The Pearson rho for 1143 correlations between change in HR and change in pain was 0.08 (95% CI 0.03-0.13). This study suggests that there is a poor correlation between change in pain intensity and change in heart rate among ED patients with acute pain.
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