Impact of Individualized Versus Weight-Based Pain Protocols on Patient Satisfaction for Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Experiencing a Vaso-Occlusive Episode
Recommended Citation
Ibemere SO, Barnhart H, Myers J, Miller J, Osunkwo I, Bosworth HB, Freiermuth CE, Hughes R, Kavanagh PL, Paice JA, Paxton J, Pierce A, Runyon MS, Strouse JJ, Veeramreddy P, Wilkerson RG, and Tanabe P. Impact of Individualized Versus Weight-Based Pain Protocols on Patient Satisfaction for Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Experiencing a Vaso-Occlusive Episode. J Emerg Nurs 2025;51(4):626-635.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2025
Publication Title
Journal of emergency nursing
Keywords
Humans, Anemia, Sickle Cell, Male, Female, Patient Satisfaction, Pain Management, Adult, Emergency Service, Hospital, Pain Measurement, Clinical Protocols, Body Weight, Young Adult
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: National guidelines for the acute management of sickle cell disease vaso-occlusive episodes recommend the use of a patient-specific or a weight-based protocol. The authors compared patient satisfaction with pain management between those randomized to receive either a patient-specific or weight-based pain protocol in the COMPARE-VOE randomized control trial.
METHODS: Participants with sickle cell disease were pre-enrolled and patient satisfaction with pain management was assessed at the time of discharge from the 6 participating emergency departments. Patients were randomized to receive a patient-specific or weight-based pain protocol. The authors compared continuous variables between the patient-specific and weight-based protocols with the 2-sample t test and categorical variables by the chi-square test.
RESULTS: The authors enrolled 104 participants. Compared with satisfaction with pain management on previous ED visits, more participants in the patient-specific protocol group than the weight-based group (57.1% vs 31.8%; P = .02) were satisfied with pain management. Most who were discharged home (91.2%) felt their pain was sufficiently relieved to be discharged home.
DISCUSSION: These findings support evidence-based guidelines to manage vaso-occlusive episodes in emergency departments. Patient-specific protocols can be implemented by partnering with local sickle cell disease providers to make protocols available in the emergency department.
Medical Subject Headings
Humans; Anemia, Sickle Cell; Male; Female; Patient Satisfaction; Pain Management; Adult; Emergency Service, Hospital; Pain Measurement; Clinical Protocols; Body Weight; Young Adult
PubMed ID
40019423
Volume
51
Issue
4
First Page
626
Last Page
635
