Clinical approaches and satisfaction with analgesia of trauma victims with severe pain

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:The profile of victims assisted by emergency units with severe pain and the satisfaction with analgesia should guide therapeutic approaches and care in such services. This study aimed at observing socio-demographic characteristics associated to severe pain in trauma victims and at evaluating whether there have been differences in clinical approaches and satisfaction with analgesia for those with moderate or severe pain. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out with 83 patients with acute, moderate or severe pain after physical trauma. Data were collected in October 2013 by means of a structured tool with questions about socio-demographic profile and pain evaluation after initial medical assistance. RESULTS: It was observed that 53.02% of respondents have classified pain at admission as severe, which was associated to age between 18 and 49 years and education less than eight years. Individuals with severe pain had higher chances of simultaneously receiving non-pharmacological measures and intravenous drugs, have reported improvement only 30 minutes after their administration and were not happy with analgesia. CONCLUSION: Most patients were young, with education less than eight years and have reported severe pain. Dissatisfaction with analgesia was more frequent among severe pain patients. Health professionals should be alert for age and education characteristics when evaluating pain in trauma victims and should carefully evaluate clinical approaches to be used.

Barreras al cuidado al final de la vida en un servicio de urgencia

“…Os profi ssionais de saúde devem ter capacidade para controlar a dor f ísica do paciente, oferecer apoio a fi m de encorajá-lo a continuar a realizar suas escolhas, ofertar o máximo de conforto possível, e ajudá-lo a equilibrar o grau de dependência/independência pessoal nas atividades da vida diária até à sua morte (18)(19) . Além disso, mesmo em ambientes com condições adversas, como é o caso dos serviços de urgência e emergência, estratégias não-farmacológicas para o controle da dor devem ser estimuladas (20) .…”