Pain
Conditions
Keywords
Pain, Hospital length of stay, Revalidation unit
Brief summary
The financing of the Belgian hospitals is based on a system taking into account the length of hospitalization of a given patient according to his/her pathology, his/her age and his/her geriatric characteristics. This system encourages all hospital to lower the hospitalization duration to the national average for these criteria. This results in better efficiency in the management of hospitalizations but also means a swifter transfer to structures exempted from this system such as revalidation units, nursing homes and psychiatric units. An assessment of the differences in the medical practice, in terms of quality and outcomes of care, is essential for any reform willing to reduce medical costs. Pain management is part of the quality indicators within hospitals. Pain is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, associated to present or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such a damage. Several studies have showed that pain affects the quality of life and impacts the daily activities. Acute or chronic pain can cause adverse symptoms such as sleep disturbance, appetite loss, decreased concentration, mood changes and the disruption of familial, work and social activities. Pain might also slow down revalidation processes. A study performed by Aprile et al showed that pain negatively influenced the rehabilitation program of a quarter of the patients having had a stroke. The functional recovery was slower and the costs were higher. The aim of this study is to determine if the systematic evaluation of the pain of a patient hospitalized in a revalidation unit has an impact on his/her length of stay.
Interventions
OTHERPain evaluation
Pain will be assessed four times per day on a visual analogic scale.
Sponsors
Brugmann University Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Sequential inclusion of all patients hospitalized in the chronic revalidation hospital unit of the CHU Brugmann - Queen Astrid site
Exclusion criteria
* Pathological cognitive state (MMS\<23/30)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pain score (EVA) | 5 minutes, 4 times per day | Pain assessment on the Visual Analogic Scale (EVA) |
| Hospitalization duration | Hospitalization length (average of 48 days) | — |
| HADS score | Baseline (first day of hospitalisation) | Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (questionnaire) |
| Barthel Index | Baseline (first day of hospitalisation) | Daily life activities assessment |
| CACS score | Hospitalization length (average of 48 days) | Composite score of analgesics consumption |
Countries
Belgium
Outcome results
None listed