DO QUANTITATIVE CHANGES IN PAIN INTENSITY CORRELATE WITH PAIN RELIEF AND SATISFACTION

Objective: To correlate measured pain intensity (PI) changes with pain relief and satisfaction with pain management. Methods: A prospective single-group repeated-measures design study. A heterogeneous group of patients were asked to record their levels of PI at initial presentati on and at ED release using a numerical descriptor scale (NDS) and a vi sual analog scale (VAS). At release, a 5-point pain relief scale and a pain management satisfaction survey were also completed. Results: A c onvenience sample of 81 patients were enrolled over the study period. The average reduction in PI for all patients was 33%. A 5%, 30%, and 5 7% reduction in PI correlated with ''no,'' some/partial,'' and ''signi ficant/complete'' relief, respectively (p < 0.001). However, when pati ents were divided into 2 groups based on their initial PI scores, pati ents with moderate/severe pain (NDS > 5) required a reduction of 35% a nd 84% in PI to achieve ''some/partial'' and ''significant/complete'' relief, respectively. Patients in less pain (NDS less than or equal to 5) needed 25% and 29% reductions in PI for the same categories (p = 0 .8). Patients were generally satisfied with their pain management. The re was a positive association between pain relief and satisfaction wit h pain management. Conclusion: There is a significant association betw een changes in PI and pain relief Greater reductions in PI are require d for patients presenting with more severe initial pain to achieve rel ief compared with those who have lesser initial PI. While there is a l inear relationship between increasing pain relief and satisfaction, re lief of pain appears to only partially contribute to overall satisfact ion with pain management.