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Assessment of pain in less severely ill and injured aeromedical evacuation patients: a prospective field study.

Assessment of pain in less severely ill and injured aeromedical evacuation patients: a prospective field study.

Authors :
Bridges E
Dukes S
Serres J
Source :
Military medicine [Mil Med] 2015 Mar; Vol. 180 (3 Suppl), pp. 44-9.
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

Pain management is vitally important to injured patients being evacuated from the warzone. A prospective assessment of real-time ratings of pain acceptability, intensity, and satisfaction of a convenience sample of 114 less severely ill and injured U.S. military patients being evacuated on Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) missions from Ramstein Air Field, Germany, to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, was conducted. Data were collected before and during 12 AE flights in December 2012 and May 2013. Acceptable pain intensity was a median of 6/10 (range 2-9), with 76% of patients indicating an acceptable pain intensity greater than 4. During AE transport, 75% of patients reported at least one pain scoreā‰„4. Despite these high pain ratings, there was documentation of administration for only 58% of routine and 48% for as-needed analgesics/adjuvants. Over 47% of patients experienced pain that exceeded their acceptable intensity level, but of those patients with pain that was more severe than acceptable, only 10% rated their satisfaction with their pain management as poor or fair. This is the first study to provide real-time concurrent assessment of pain and pain management during en route care. The worst pain was reported for the hospital to aircraft arrival, suggesting the need for interventions to safely optimize pain management during this handoff period.<br /> (Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1930-613X
Volume :
180
Issue :
3 Suppl
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Military medicine
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
25747630
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00407