Acute and Chronic Pain Management in Hospital Patients Based on Real-World Data

Pain management in hospitalized acute and chronic pain patients should include multimodal analgesic and non-pharmacological interventions. However, empirical data on real-world pain management practices comparing acute and chronic pain patients remains limited. To describe and compare interventions used for hospitalized patients with acute versus chronic pain.

In a cross-sectional analysis of Austrian Nursing Quality Measurement 2.0 data from three annual assessments (2021-2023), patients with current pain (n = 2,118) were categorized as acute (n = 1,163) or chronic (n = 955).

Trained nurse pairs documented demographics, medical diagnoses, care dependency, and pain interventions received at the time of assessment. Descriptive statistics and bivariate testing were performed.

Compared with acute pain patients, those with chronic pain were older (73 vs. 66 years, p < 0.001), more care dependent (p < 0.05), and more likely to have cardiovascular disease (46% vs. 33%, p < 0.001). Pharmacological treatments predominated in both groups, with higher use in acute pain (990%) than chronic pain (86%, p < 0.001). Acute pain care more often included NSAIDs, whereas chronic pain patients received more opioids. Physiotherapy was used similarly in both groups (≈40%). Other non-pharmacological modalities were infrequently applied, typically in < 10% of patients.

This descriptive study documents current pain management practices in Austrian hospitals, revealing predominant reliance on medications, with limited integration of non-pharmacological options in both acute and chronic populations. Future research should incorporate pain outcomes, treatment effectiveness measures, longitudinal follow-up, and systematic examination of institutional and patient-level barriers to comprehensive multimodal pain management.

Our results provide a baseline for quality improvement initiatives.