Browsing by Author "H/Mariam, Gelaw"

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    Assessment of the Pain Management Practice in Tash Adult Emergency Department
    (Addis Ababa University, 2014-09) H/Mariam, Gelaw; Teklu, Sisay (Professor)
    Background: Up to 70% of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) have underlying pain as a reason to seek help. Knowledge on pain management practice in the ED is lacking. Objective of the Study: The general objective of this study is to assess the practice of pain management in TASH adult ED. Specific objectives; 1) Determine the socio-demographics of patients in pain 2) Determine the initial and subsequent severity of pain 3) Identify factors affecting analgesics(s) administration Methodologies: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 123 patients with moderate to severe pain presenting to TASH adult ED. A numerical pain rating scale was used to determine pain severity at two phases: initially at triage and after arrival into ED. Result: Out of 123 patients enrolled in the study were male (67.5%) with the median age of 32(min 14, max 90). Majority of patients were trauma accounting (59.3%) of all patients. Initial mean pain score was 7.7 and 79.7% of patients remained in moderate to severe pain despite initial physician evaluation and initiation of orders. Moreover for 39% of patients the pain either did not change (30.8%) or increased in intensity (8%) despite initial treatment. For 56.9% of patients analgesics were given, of which Tramadol was the commonest drug used (47.8%). Although 81.5% said they needed additional potent analgesics to be given, there was a record of higher satisfaction rate on overall pain management. Conclusion: Initial high intensity of pain was documented and these are poorly recognized and majorities were left inadequately treated. Limitation: The study was conducted in a single tertiary hospital ED, which makes it less representative of the common encounter in community hospital in the country. Key words: Emergency department, pain, pain management, TASH