After securing vital function, treatment of pain is an important aspect in emergency medical care. Irrespective of the underlying disease or injury, pain is an important warning symptom of the body and the most common reason for an emergency alert notification. A patient assesses quality of care and success of prehospital care using the criteria of the extent of pain relief he experiences. Since mild pain does not usually lead to an emergency alert, the criteria apply mainly to treatment of severe and very severe pain. Pain perception varies from individual to individual. Accordingly, assessment of pain intensity is the very first step in pain therapy. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable) is suitable for pain assessment in adult emergency patients. Above a grade of 4, therapeutic intervention should be initiated with the goal of reducing pain to reach a value of <4, or at least to achieve a reduction by 3 points. The choice of analgesics that can be meaningfully used in pre-hospital emergency medicine is limited. The emergency physician should be aware of available drugs and administration routes.
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