• Charles V Pollack, Deborah B Diercks, Stephen H Thomas, Nathan I Shapiro, John Fanikos, Sharon E Mace, Zubaid Rafique, and Knox H Todd.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
• Acad Emerg Med. 2016 Mar 1; 23 (3): 331-41.

ObjectivesPatient compliance and satisfaction with analgesics prescribed after emergency department (ED) care for acute pain are poorly understood, largely because of the lack of direct patient follow-up with the ED provider. Our objective was to compare patient satisfaction with three analgesia regimens prescribed for post-ED care-a nasally administered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), an opioid, or combination therapy-by collecting granular follow-up on analgesic use, pain scores, side effects, work activity levels, and overall satisfaction directly from patients.MethodsWe designed a prospective registry linking ED assessment and analgesic management for acute pain of specific musculoskeletal or visceral etiologies with self-reported automated telephonic follow-up daily for the 4 days post-ED discharge. Patients were prescribed a specific NSAID (SPRIX, ketorolac tromethamine for nasal instillation) only, an oral opioid only, or both with the opioid clearly defined as rescue therapy, at the ED provider's discretion.ResultsThere were 824 evaluable subjects. Maximum pain scores improved day to day more effectively with a ketorolac-based approach. Self-reported rates of return to work and work effectiveness were higher with SPRIX than with opioids or combination therapy. Adverse effects of nausea, constipation, drowsiness, and abdominal pain were higher each day among patients taking an opioid; nasal irritation was more common with SPRIX. Overall satisfaction at the end of the follow-up period was higher with SPRIX-based treatment than with opioid monotherapy.ConclusionsAutomated telephonic follow-up of ED patients prescribed short-term analgesia is feasible. Ketorolac-based analgesia after an ED visit for many acute pain syndromes was associated with favorable patient outcomes and higher satisfaction than opioid-based therapy. SPRIX, an NSAID that is not available over the counter and has a novel delivery approach, may be useful for short-term post-ED outpatient analgesia.© 2016 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

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