Understanding the need for and use of analgesics in the emergency department

The primary study aim was to identify interrelated factors that determine analgesic use in the ED, with a focus on patients receiving opioids, patients receiving inadequate analgesia, and patients eligible for non-pharmacological pain treatment, particularly VR. To identify patients receiving inadequate analgesia, we analyzed the ED population, nurses’ perceptions of pain scores and pain relief, and the relationships between key components of pain assessment. We calculated and evaluated optimal NRS cut-off scores for pain acceptability and the desire for analgesics. Further, we assessed what patients considered to be acceptable regarding pain. The current study was conducted preceding a study evaluating the implementation of VR as a non-pharmacological treatment in the ED. Published are the researchprotocol, database, codebook and syntax for analyses.