Pain Outcomes of Inpatient Pain and Palliative Care Consultations: Differences by Race and Diagnosis

Background: Pain management disparities exist among patients not receiving palliative care. We examined pain outcomes for disparities among patients receiving palliative care. Methods: At a 542-bed teaching hospital in Honolulu, The Queens' Medical Center Pain and Palliative Care Department collected patient characteristics and pain severity (initial, final) for each consultation from 2005 through 2009. Analyses compared pain levels by race (white, Asian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander [PI], other) and consultation diagnosis (cancer, noncancer medical, surgical [59% orthopedic], other). Multiple regression models analyzed factors associated with lower final pain levels and pain reduction. Results: Study population included 4658 patients. No final pain was reported by more non-white patients (33%-39%) than white (27%, pCopyright of Journal of Palliative Medicine is the property of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)