Time to Rewrite Assessment and Documentation of Acute Pain in the Emergency Setting

Abstract

Acutely painful conditions are under evaluated and under treated in the ED, suggesting
that ED staff need more education and training about the management of acute pain. One
important step in relieving pain is to assess its presence and degree.1 The effective management
of acute pain in the ED requires appropriate assessment of the pain based on the patient’s perception
of pain using a validated pain scale. Additionally, reassessment of pain is essential to
determine the effect of treatment.2
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) has described pain as ‘an
unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage,
or described in terms of such damage’.
Within the last two decades, pain management policies of the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) have become standard and the addition
of pain as the “fifth” vital sign was noted in the context of initial assessment. Although, there
seems to be a consensus among medical disciplines to address its importance, one cannot yet
claim that all healthcare personnel behave within standards in every real life situations worldwide.