Audit of pain management in the emergency department

Pain management in Malaysian Emergency Departments has not been studied well. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 402 patients who presented with acute pain over a 2-week period. The 11-point Numerical Rating Scale was used to quantify pain. Pain relieving medications were prescribed to 178 patients (44.3%) in the Emergency Department. These patients had a median pain score of 7 on arrival. Nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs were the most commonly prescribed class of analgesic. Pain was found to be inadequately treated.