Quality and impact of nurse-initiated analgesia in the emergency department: A systematic review.
International Emergency Nursing · 2018-06-06 · Systematic review
Abstract
AIM: This paper reports a systematic literature review evaluating the impact and quality of pain management associated with nurse initiated analgesia in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). BACKGROUND: Pain is a major presenting complaint for individuals attending the ED. Timely access to effective analgesia continues to be a global concern in the ED setting; emergency nurses are optimally positioned to improve detection and management of pain. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATABASES AND DATA TREATMENT: Four databases - CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, ProQuest - the Cochrane Library and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence were searched from date of inception to December 2017; with no language restrictions applied. Studies were identified using predetermined inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and summarised and underwent evaluation using published valid criteria. RESULTS: Twelve articles met inclusion, comprising a wide range of analgesics and administration routes to manage mild to severe pain. Overall study quality was high; 7 studies included a form of comparison group. Patient outcome measures included time to analgesia (n = 12; 100%), change in pain score (n = 6; 50.0%); adverse events (n = 6; 50.0%); patient satisfaction (n = 5; 41.7%) and documenting pain assessment (n = 2; 16.7%). CONCLUSION: Nurse-initiated analgesia was associated with safe, timely and effective pain relief.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Analgesics · Ambulance & prehospital nurses
Related articles
- Nurses' perspectives on providing analgesia in the Italian prehospital emergency setting: A phenomenological study. (Int Emerg Nurs, 2025)
- Nitrous oxide for early analgesia in the emergency setting: a randomized, double-blind multicenter prehospital trial. (Acad Emerg Med, 2013)
- Prehospital Emergency Nurse competence and pain management in patients with acute abdominal pain: a retrospective observational study. (BMC Emerg Med, 2026)
- Identifying values and preferences around the choice of analgesia for patients with acute trauma pain in emergency and prehospital settings: using group concept mapping methodology. (BMJ Open, 2020)
- Analgesia in trauma patients treated by advanced life support nursing units: a retrospective pre-post intervention observational study. (Rev Lat Am Enfermagem, 2026)
- Pain Management in a Prehospital Emergency Setting: A Retrospective Observational Study. (J Pain Res, 2022)