Pain practices in a Saudi emergency department

To describe analgesic practices among adults presenting to the emergency department (ED), and to determine factors affecting the timeliness and adequacy of analgesia.

A retrospective cohort study with descriptive and comparable data analysis was conducted on 2,199 patient visits. This included a structured medical records review for all adult patients (over 14 years old) from August 1, 2006 to October 31, 2006 that presented to the Emergency Department (ED) of King Abdul-Aziz Hospital, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Patients with acute pain episode associated with sickle cell disease, headache, backache, renal colic, and trauma (specific isolated injuries) were included. Patients quantified their pain on arrival by using 2 scales.

There were 2199 patient visits during the study period that included 1190 males (54.1%). The mean age was 24.4 10.6 years. One quarter of all the patients did not receive any analgesia in the ED. The median time to administration of initial analgesic was 54 minutes. Approximately one fourth of all patients were sent home with no analgesics. Data identified female patients and low triage level as the predictors for longer time to initial analgesia.

Our data illustrate that adults with painful conditions in our ED often receive inadequate or no analgesic treatment.