Evaluating Racial and Gender Disparities in the Management of Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Department

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

3-6-2026

Publication Title

Am J Health Syst Pharm

Keywords

abdominal injury, abdominal pain, abdominal surgery, adult, analgesia, Caucasian, chronic pain, cohort analysis, conference abstract, coronavirus disease 2019, diagnosis, drug dose, drug therapy, electronic health record, emergency care, emergency department visit, emergency ward, female, gender, gender inequality, human, ICD-10, major clinical study, male, middle aged, observational study, pain, patient triage, post hoc analysis, retrospective study, sex difference

Abstract

Purpose: Acute pain is the leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits, accounting for at least 40% of annual admissions. Although recent data suggest this figure may be underreported, disparities in pain management continue to affect diverse patient populations seeking emergency care for both acute and chronic pain conditions. It remains unclear whether racial or gender differences influence pain management practices in the ED at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital. This study aims to utilize patient-centered outcomes to identify any potential disparities in the treatment of abdominal pain. Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study will be conducted at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital. This study aims to obtain and analyze data on patients who meet the following inclusion criteria: age 18 years and older, and an ICD-10 diagnosis related to abdominal pain. Exclusion criteria include pregnant patients, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive patients, missing pain scores within 6 hours of triage note entry, missing demographic data on race or gender, patients who left before being evaluated by an ED provider, patients who left against medical advice before receiving medical treatment, and patients with abdominal trauma or abdominal surgery within the past 7 days. The primary outcome that will be assessed is the time to medication administration, defined by the time the triage note is entered into the electronic health record to the time the first pain medication is administered. The secondary outcomes include the type of analgesia administered, average decrease in the reported pain score after medication administration, and disposition. A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test with a post hoc analysis will be utilized to identify differences in the following demographic groups: White males, White females, non-White males, and non-White females.

Volume

83

Issue

Supplement_2

First Page

S799

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