None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
We sought to introduce and evaluate the practice of ‘nurse-initiated analgesia’ in the emergency department of a busy tertiary hospital in Western Australia, whereby the ED triage nurse (or other specifically trained ED nurse) administered analgesic medications according to a pre-defined protocol, without the patient being first assessed by a medical officer.
Interventions
Nurse-initiated pain protocol in emergency department - involved the administration of various oral analgesic medications (type of drug and dose specified) depending on the patient's pain score (0-10). For example, 2 x paracetamol 500mg oral (or 2 x Ibuprofen 200mg ) for mild pain (pain score 1-3); 2 x paracetamol 500mg with codeine 30mg (or 3 x Ibuprofen 200mg/Codeine 12.8mg) for moderate pain (pain score 4-6), and oxycodone 5mg for severe pain (pain score 7+). The nurse-initiated analgesia p
Nurse-initiated pain protocol in emergency department - involved the administration of various oral analgesic medications (type of drug and dose specified) depending on the patient's pain score (0-10). For example, 2 x paracetamol 500mg oral (or 2 x Ibuprofen 200mg ) for mild pain (pain score 1-3); 2 x paracetamol 500mg with codeine 30mg (or 3 x Ibuprofen 200mg/Codeine 12.8mg) for moderate pain (pain score 4-6), and oxycodone 5mg for severe pain (pain score 7+). The nurse-initiated analgesia protocol could only be used once for each patient without further consultation with a medical officer, ie the duration was for initial pain relief in the Emergency Department only. The nurse-initiated protocol was trialled between 4 April 2009 and 25 June 2009.
Sponsors
Professor Judith Finn
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 100 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
All adult patients presenting to the ED with pain
Exclusion criteria
Patients meeting the following conditions were excluded: presented with chest pain of presumed cardiac origin or headache; were triaged as emergency or urgent (Australasian Triage Score 1 & 2)[12]; exhibited unstable vital signs; were pregnant or lactating; had known contraindications to one of the study drugs; declined analgesia; or already had an analgesia related management plan in place.
Outcome results
None listed