Clinically meaningful reduction in pain severity in children treated by paramedics: a retrospective cohort study

IntroductionPediatric pain is a common presenting symptom in the prehospital setting; however, there is a lack of data identifying factors associated with effective pain management in this population. We sought to identify the factors associated with clinically meaningful pain reduction in children.MethodsAn analysis of electronic patient care records of all patients younger than 15 years presenting with pain to the emergency medical service of Victoria, Australia, over a 4-year period (2008-2011). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate regression to assess predictors of clinically meaningful pain reduction. Clinically meaningful pain reduction was defined as a reduction of 2 or more points on an 11-point scale.ResultsA total of 92 378 children were transported, of whom 15 016 (16.3%) met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 11 (interquartile range, 9-13) years, and 59.2% were male. Patients older than 9 years were less likely (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4-0.6) and boys were more likely (adjusted odds ratio, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3) to have a clinically meaningful reduction in pain. Patients with pain classified as musculoskeletal were more likely to achieve a reduction in pain score of 2 or more when compared with pain due to other medical causes (AOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-1.9).ConclusionsFactors other than the type of analgesia are important determinants of prehospital pain relief and are likely to impact on clinical care and research. Clinical audit and research projects should stratify patients according to patient as well as management factors to maximize service improvement.