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Cited by 100Pain Management and Opioid UseAnesthesia and Pain ManagementPediatric Pain Management Techniques

Pain and Satisfaction With Pain Control in Hospitalized Medical Patients: No Such Thing as Low Risk

Whelan, Chad T., Jin, Lei, Meltzer, David·2004·Archives of Internal Medicine
DOI 10.1001/archinte.164.2.175
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pain is common in many populations of hospitalized patients. It is unknown if any populations of hospitalized patients are at low risk for pain. We studied the prevalence of pain and satisfaction with pain control in a general medicine inpatient service to determine if this population was at low risk for pain. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study of 5584 hospitalized patients. Pain and pain control were assessed in a follow-up telephone survey. Predictors of pain were determined through administrative databases and patient survey. RESULTS: Of the study patients, 59% had pain (28% reported severe, 19% moderate, and 12% mild pain). Among patients with common diagnoses, those with sickle cell crisis were the most likely and those with syncope were the least likely to report significant pain (90% and 34%, respectively). Patient characteristics significantly associated with increased pain included DRG (diagnosis related group) weight (odds ratio [OR], 1.19), Charlson Index score (OR, 1.03), age older than 65 years (OR, 0.65), female sex (OR, 1.17), and education level higher than high school (OR, 1.31). Pain was reported by 28% of patients without high-risk characteristics for pain; and 82.2% of patients were satisfied, 11.1% somewhat satisfied, and 6.7% dissatisfied with their pain treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Pain was common in the study population and more patients rated their pain as severe than as moderate or mild. Pain was dispersed among diagnoses. Although most patients thought that their pain was adequately controlled, 18% of patients with pain (10% of all patients) reported that their pain was inadequately controlled. Although patient characteristics were associated with pain or dissatisfaction with pain control, they were weak predictors and significant pain was common even in populations at the lowest-risk for pain.

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Authors
Whelan, C. T., Jin, L., & Meltzer, D.
Affiliations
University of Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Whelan, Chad T.
ORCID
Jin, Lei
Venue
Archives of Internal Medicine
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2004-01-26
Volume
164
Issue
2
Pages
175
ISSN
0003-9926 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/archinte.164.2.175
OpenAlex
W2092324000
Cited by
100
References
25
Citations by year
2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 9
FWCI
7.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Archives of Internal Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01 HS10597)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Anesthesia and Pain Management
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
Keywords
pain prevalence, pain management, patient satisfaction, medical inpatients, vaso-occlusive crisis, syncope, predictors of pain, pain intensity, low-risk population
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Aged, Black or African American, Diagnosis-Related Groups, Educational Status, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pain, Predictive Value of Tests, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Factors, United States, Prevalence, Multivariate Analysis, Logistic Models, Patient Satisfaction, Risk Assessment, Black People

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