EM Ottawa - By Michael Austin, Josee Malette - November 29, 2022
Summary
Pain is common in the prehospital setting. Acute pain derives from the combined effects of stimulated nociceptors, local inflammation, systemic stress response mediators, and psychological factors. No single treatment will intervene to treat each factor; rather, a combination of modalities should be utilized to reduce pain perception. Because of individual variation, acute pain management plans should be tailored for the needs of each patient. Continued monitoring of your patients’ response to your interventions is key to ensure a patient-centred approach to care. This includes good documentation of verbal numeric pain scores (0-10). The use of splinting, repositioning and reassurance should be continued with other modalities such as acetaminophen, NSAIDs and opioids in order to optimize pain relief. Ultimately, the patient with improved acute pain management yields increased satisfaction, decreased risk of chronic pain, and decreased overall morbidity.