title: Prescribing of analgesics in trauma patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether initial orders of pain medications by physicians for trauma patients were in accordance with published guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Concurrent, nonrandomized investigation conducted over 4 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  All adult trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit within 12 hours of injury who stayed for at least 1 hour were eligible for study admission. Patients with injuries prohibiting accurate pain assessment (e.g., Glasgow Coma Score < 8, spinal cord injury) were excluded. Initial orders for pain medications were compared to published guidelines; correlations between dose and patient demographics were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 30 patients enrolled in the study, 83% were prescribed appropriate pain control regimens. The average dose of morphine administered during each of the 8-hour dosing intervals was approximately 12 mg. No relationship was found between patient age, sex, Glasgow Coma Score, and morphine dose; however, there was a positive correlation found between Injury Severity Score and dose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of patients in this investigation were initially prescribed appropriate doses and intervals for pain management.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Erstad
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chopda
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Esser
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009020:Morphine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D009020:Morphine