Pain in Hospital: A Real-Word Data Analysis

Area of Science:

• Pain management research
• Hospitalized patient care
• Clinical nursing practices

Background:

• Pain remains a significant challenge in hospital settings despite advancements.
• Effective pain management relies heavily on accurate assessment, which is often insufficient.
• Nurses play a crucial role in the daily management of patient pain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of pain among patients in a Swiss university hospital.
• To describe pain assessment practices and associated patient characteristics.
• To identify factors influencing severe pain in medical and surgical wards.

Main Methods:

• A monocentric correlational descriptive study design was employed.
• Secondary analysis of 22,987 computerized health records from medical and surgical wards.
• Data collected between November 1, 2017, and March 31, 2019.

Main Results:

• High prevalence of pain was observed in both medical and surgical units.
• Approximately 20% of patients experienced severe pain during their hospital stay.
• Severe pain was more likely in medical wards, though pain presence was not associated with ward type.

Conclusions:

• Personalized and close pain monitoring is recommended to prevent severe pain.
• The findings underscore the need for improved pain assessment and management strategies.
• Targeted interventions in medical wards may be beneficial for pain control.