Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department
Background: Extremity fractures are an important and common presentation at the Paediatric Emergency Department (PED). Provision of analgesia is a key management principle, but it is often suboptimal. Although there is an increase in awareness of this issue, the impact on current practice is not kno...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105820915731 |
| _version_ | 1818510984487108608 |
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| author | Siew Ming Tan Yong-Kwang Gene Ong Jen Heng Pek |
| author_facet | Siew Ming Tan Yong-Kwang Gene Ong Jen Heng Pek |
| author_sort | Siew Ming Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Extremity fractures are an important and common presentation at the Paediatric Emergency Department (PED). Provision of analgesia is a key management principle, but it is often suboptimal. Although there is an increase in awareness of this issue, the impact on current practice is not known. We aimed to review the current practice of providing analgesia for extremity fractures in the PED. Objective: Our objective was to determine the utilisation, adequacy and timeliness of analgesia provided for these patients. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out from November to December 2017. Patients with a diagnosis of extremity fracture involving the upper or lower limb were included. Information about patient demographics, diagnosis, pain score, analgesia use and clinical progress were collected for analysis. Results: There were 101 cases. The mean age was 8.5±4.2 years old, and 62 (61.4%) patients were male. There were 76 (75.3%) cases of fractures involving the upper limb, and 25 (24.7%) cases of fractures involving the lower limb. The mean pain score at presentation was 3.3±2.3. Analgesia was administered to only 10 (9.9%) patients, with oral paracetamol ( n =5; 5.0%) being the most common medication administered. The median time between arrival in the PED to analgesia administration was 69 minutes (range 25–328 minutes). Conclusions: Despite the increase in awareness, analgesia for these patients remains underutilised, inadequate and delayed. Further efforts at pain assessment, analgesia selection and administration are necessary to improve the provision of analgesia for these patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:27:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c4ac473b2144484ebec739a285352fb7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2010-1058 2059-2329 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:27:24Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-c4ac473b2144484ebec739a285352fb72022-12-22T01:29:33ZengSAGE PublishingProceedings of Singapore Healthcare2010-10582059-23292020-06-012910.1177/2010105820915731Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency departmentSiew Ming Tan0Yong-Kwang Gene Ong1Jen Heng Pek2Department of Emergency Medicine, Sengkang General Hospital, SingaporeDepartment of Emergency Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, SingaporeDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Sengkang General Hospital, SingaporeBackground: Extremity fractures are an important and common presentation at the Paediatric Emergency Department (PED). Provision of analgesia is a key management principle, but it is often suboptimal. Although there is an increase in awareness of this issue, the impact on current practice is not known. We aimed to review the current practice of providing analgesia for extremity fractures in the PED. Objective: Our objective was to determine the utilisation, adequacy and timeliness of analgesia provided for these patients. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out from November to December 2017. Patients with a diagnosis of extremity fracture involving the upper or lower limb were included. Information about patient demographics, diagnosis, pain score, analgesia use and clinical progress were collected for analysis. Results: There were 101 cases. The mean age was 8.5±4.2 years old, and 62 (61.4%) patients were male. There were 76 (75.3%) cases of fractures involving the upper limb, and 25 (24.7%) cases of fractures involving the lower limb. The mean pain score at presentation was 3.3±2.3. Analgesia was administered to only 10 (9.9%) patients, with oral paracetamol ( n =5; 5.0%) being the most common medication administered. The median time between arrival in the PED to analgesia administration was 69 minutes (range 25–328 minutes). Conclusions: Despite the increase in awareness, analgesia for these patients remains underutilised, inadequate and delayed. Further efforts at pain assessment, analgesia selection and administration are necessary to improve the provision of analgesia for these patients.https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105820915731 |
| spellingShingle | Siew Ming Tan Yong-Kwang Gene Ong Jen Heng Pek Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare |
| title | Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department |
| title_full | Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department |
| title_fullStr | Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department |
| title_short | Analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department |
| title_sort | analgesia for extremity fractures in the paediatric emergency department |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105820915731 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT siewmingtan analgesiaforextremityfracturesinthepaediatricemergencydepartment AT yongkwanggeneong analgesiaforextremityfracturesinthepaediatricemergencydepartment AT jenhengpek analgesiaforextremityfracturesinthepaediatricemergencydepartment |