Management of pain in pre-hospital settings

Assessment and management of pain in pre-hospital care settings are important aspects of paramedic and clinical team roles. As emergency department waiting times and delays in paramedic-to-nurse handover increase, it becomes more and more vital that patients receive adequate pre-hospital pain relief. However, administration of analgesia can be inadequate and can result in patients experiencing oligoanalgesia, or under-treated pain. This article examines these issues along with the aetiology of trauma and the related socioeconomic background of traumatic injury. It reviews validated pain-assessment tools, outlines physiological responses to traumatic pain and discusses some of the misconceptions about the provision of effective analgesia in pre-hospital settings.