title: Impact of Race/Ethnicity on Pain Management Outcomes in a Community-Based Teaching Hospital Following Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine race/ethnicity differences in pain management outcomes following inpatient palliative care consultation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective study based on data from a community-based teaching hospital in Fresno, CA, USA, from April 2014 to July 2015. One hundred sixty-one patients with life-limiting diagnoses and palliative care pain-related consultations were included. The patients were categorized into four racial groups: Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians/Others. Demographics and baseline pain scores using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were obtained. The outcome measures included the length of stay, time to consult, and pain scores at admission, 24 hours before the consultation, 24-48 hours after consultation, and at discharge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The initial median pain scores were not significantly different between the groups, however, the Asians had slightly higher pain scores compared to the other groups. African-Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics had significant differences in pain outcomes after consultation compared to 24 hours prior to consultation (p = 0.01, p < 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Caucasians and Hispanics had significant differences in pain outcomes after palliative consultation compared to initial admission assessment (p < 0.01). The differences between discharge and admission pain scores were significant only for Asians, Caucasians, and Hispanics (p = 0.04, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, respectively) but not African-Americans. There were no significant pain score differences across the racial groups following consultations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were no significant differences in pain reduction amongst the racial groups, suggesting that pain can adequately be managed in individual racial groups after inpatient palliative care consultations.
authors.affiliation: Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: Duc
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sue
authors.affiliation: Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.affiliation: Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: Tegest
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hailu
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swift
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco - Fresno Department of Family & Community Medicine.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Macmillan
keywords: end-of-life care; health-care disparities; pain; palliative care; race/ethnicity