Patient satisfaction with pain management does not correlate with initial or discharge VAS pain score, verbal pain rating at discharge, or change in VAS score in the Emergency Department

The aim of this study was to correlate patient satisfaction with pain management in the Emergency Department (ED) with initial and discharge visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, verbal pain rating at discharge, and change in VAS pain score between presentation and discharge. It was conducted as a prospective observational study of patients who presented to an urban, adult ED experiencing pain and who were later discharged. Fifty-four patients completed the study of whom 70% rated the management of their pain as 'good' or 'very good.' There was no correlation between patient satisfaction with pain management initial VAS pain score, discharge VAS pain score, verbal rating of pain at discharge, or change in VAS pain score between presentation and discharge. The study suggests that patient satisfaction with pain management does not correlate with initial or discharge VAS pain score, verbal rating of pain at discharge or change in pain score in the ED. Therefore, information about the quality of analgesia provided in an ED cannot be inferred from patient satisfaction surveys.