• B L Erstad, S Chopda, and M J Esser.
• College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
• Am J Ther. 1997 Jan 1;4(1):27-30.

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether initial orders of pain medications by physicians for trauma patients were in accordance with published guidelines.DesignConcurrent, nonrandomized investigation conducted over 4 months.Materials And MethodsAll adult trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit within 12 hours of injury who stayed for at least 1 hour were eligible for study admission. Patients with injuries prohibiting accurate pain assessment (e.g., Glasgow Coma Score < 8, spinal cord injury) were excluded. Initial orders for pain medications were compared to published guidelines; correlations between dose and patient demographics were studied.ResultsOf the 30 patients enrolled in the study, 83% were prescribed appropriate pain control regimens. The average dose of morphine administered during each of the 8-hour dosing intervals was approximately 12 mg. No relationship was found between patient age, sex, Glasgow Coma Score, and morphine dose; however, there was a positive correlation found between Injury Severity Score and dose.ConclusionsThe majority of patients in this investigation were initially prescribed appropriate doses and intervals for pain management.

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