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The following is a summary of “Pain assessment and management of adult patients in the Swedish EMS: a nationwide registry study,” published in the February 2025 issue of Pain by Larsson et al. 

Pain frequently prompted individuals to contact Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and effective pain management served as a cornerstone of EMS practice.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess pain intensity prevalence, analgesic use, and the relationship between self-reported pain and vital signs in EMS care.  

They used data from 3,94,700 EMS missions recorded in the Swedish Ambulance Registry from 2021 to 2022. The study included patients seeking EMS care for pain, trauma, or injury. Pain intensity was assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), with scores of 5–10 classified as high-level pain and ≤4 as low-level pain. Descriptive statistics summarize categorical and continuous variables. Chi-square tests analyzed dichotomous variables, while Kruskal–Wallis tests examined ordinal data. Logistic regression identified factors linked to pain intensity and analgesic use. A P-value <0.001 indicated statistical significance.  

The results showed that pain intensity was documented in 23.6% of cases, with 57.4% reporting high-level pain ([NRS 5–10). Analgesics were given in 27.5% of cases, with higher administration rates when pain intensity was recorded. Higher pain intensity was linked with female sex, increased respiratory rate, and elevated systolic blood pressure, while older age correlated with lower odds of high-level pain, and no significant link was found between heart rate and pain intensity.  

Investigators concluded a significant deficiency in documented pain assessment and management within the Swedish EMS, with low rates of validated pain assessment and analgesic administration despite pain being a common reason for EMS contact, indicating a lack of systematic approach that likely placed patients at risk of inadequate pain relief. 

Source: sjtrem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13049-025-01333-2