Abstract

Objective: To identify factors influencing patient satisfaction and the effectiveness of a common analgesic administered upon triage arrival.
Methodology: This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial included 120 patients with isolated upper or lower limb trauma admitted to the ED. Patients, aged 14 and above, were randomly assigned to receive either 0.05 mg/kg of intravenous morphine or a placebo of distilled water for pain management. Patient satisfaction with pain control was assessed using a 3-level rating scale (good, moderate, poor) at the study's conclusion, considering demographic characteristics, education level, mechanism of trauma and injury type and site.
Results: Mean age of patients was 35±15.41 years. Intervention group had good to moderate satisfaction across genders, ages, and education levels. While 85% of patients with soft tissue injuries were satisfied, nearly 40% with fractures were dissatisfied. Notably, around 80% of participants with upper or lower limb injuries reported successful pain management satisfaction. However, patients with car accident-related trauma expressed dissatisfaction, contrasting with about 80% satisfaction among those with other traumatic pains. Satisfaction was significantly higher in the morphine group compared to the control group, where 58.3% reported poor satisfaction.

Conclusion: This study underscores the critical role of pain management in enhancing satisfaction among trauma patients in ED, irrespective of their demographic traits, injury type and location, or injury mechanism.

Key words: Emergency department, pain management, patient’s satisfaction, traumatic pain.