Assessment of the implementation of a nurse-initiated pain management protocol in the emergency department

Avaliação da implementação de um protocolo de manejo da dor iniciado por enfermeiros no departamento de emergências

Evaluación de la implementación de un protocolo de manejo del dolor iniciado por enfermeros en el servicio de urgencias

ABSTRACT

Objectives:

to assess the implementation of a nurse-initiated pain management protocol for patients triaged as semi-urgent, and its impact in pain intensity, in the Emergency Department.

Methods:

a prospective cohort study for adult patients with pain who had been triaged as semi-urgent and admitted to the hospital’s Emergency Department. Patients who received the intervention (pain-management protocol with analgesic administration) were compared to those who were managed using the conventional approach (physician evaluation prior to analgesic administration).

Results:

of the 185 patients included, 55 (30%) received the intervention, and 130 (70%) were managed conventionally. Patients in the intervention group were more likely to have taken pain medication in the 4 hours prior to admission, and reported higher levels of pain at admission and more significant reductions in pain level.

Conclusions:

despite low protocol adherence, the intervention resulted in higher reported pain relief.

Descriptors:
Nurses; Emergencies; Emergency Nursing; Pain Management; Triage