Pain management for trauma patients

Abstract

Pain management is essential for patients with trauma. Stress responses caused by pain are associated with various adverse events, and adequate pain management is associated with good outcomes, both short and long term. Pain should be evaluated using pain assessment tools and analgesia should be systematically performed. Using a multimodal analgesia management strategy that combines various analgesic techniques is effective and can reduce side effects from opioids. In patients with severe trauma, resuscitation must be prioritized; therefore, patients arriving in the intensive care unit should be checked for missed injuries. Rib fracture is common in patients with trauma but can become a lethal condition in the presence of pneumonia because of inappropriate pain management. However, with respect to evidence-based effective analgesic methods, research remains insufficient, and further study is needed.