Pain management in a rheumatology department: a satisfaction survey.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of pain management in a teaching hospital rheumatology department.


METHODS
We conducted a satisfaction survey among all the patients admitted to the conventional rheumatology department of our teaching hospital over a 1-month period (88 patients with a mean length of stay of 5 d). The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire on the day of discharge. The professional staff was not informed of the survey.


RESULTS
The mean pain severity score at admission (visual analog scale, VAS) was 7.76 +/- 1.76 and the mean score decrease with treatment was 7.27 +/- 2.81. Expected pain relief and actual pain relief were correlated (R = 0.39; P = 0.001). Nearly all the patients (96.1%) reported have been encouraged to communicate about their pain. Information on the treatment was given to 89.3% of the patients; no significant differences in pain severity or pain relief were found between the patients who did and did not receive this information. The patients were satisfied with their management by the physicians (VAS: 8.83 +/- 2.07) and nurses (VAS: 8.68 +/- 1.72).


CONCLUSIONS
Satisfaction with pain management (a subjective criterion) was good in our patients. However, no validated tools for measuring satisfaction are available, and measurements should be repeated to look for improvements over time. Limitations to these results include the placebo effect, the influence of memory, and the effects of the behavior of hospitalized patients. A repeat survey is needed.
Bera Louville
Anne
A
Lille Teaching Hospital, Hospital Roger Salengro, Rheumatology department, 59037 Lille cedex, France. abera@chru-lille.fr
Legroux-Gerot
Isabelle
I
Cortet
Bernard
B
Devillers
Daphné
D
Blond
Serge
S
Duquesnoy
Bernard
B
Delcambre
Bernard
B
D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012219:Rheumatology
D000700:Analgesics