Introduction: Pain is a common symptom among hospitalized patients and significantly affects their quality of life, treatment adherence, and satisfaction with hospital care. The main aim of this master's thesis was to describe and evaluate pain management among internal medicine patients hospitalized at the Golnik Clinic, thereby contributing to the identification of potential opportunities for improving clinical practice.
Methods: This retrospective observational study included 153 patients who had been hospitalized at the Golnik Clinic for at least three days during a one-month period in 2025. Data were obtained through a review of patients' medical records. Pain was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
Results: A total of 41.8% of patients reported pain with a VAS score of 4 or higher at least once during hospitalization. In these patients, pain was present during one-third of hospitalization days. Pain assessment was adequately performed during three-quarters of hospitalization time, while the pain management form was used in less than half (45.3%) of patients with pain for whom the form was indicated. Almost all patients with pain (95.3%) had analgesic therapy prescribed on an as-needed basis, whereas less than half (40.6%) had regular analgesic therapy prescribed. When pain was reported, an analgesic was offered in most cases (88.5%). Reassessment of pain after analgesic administration was not performed in most cases (67.2%). At least one analgesic was prescribed in 72.5% of patients, most commonly paracetamol (82.9%), metamizole (28.8%), and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (18.9%). Weak opioids were prescribed in 17.1% of patients, whereas strong opioids were prescribed in only 9.0% of patients. Strong opioids were initiated in only four patients, while opioid rotation was performed in two patients.
Conclusion: Pain was frequently present among hospitalized patients, although it rarely represented the primary reason for hospitalization. In most cases, pain was adequately monitored and treated, as pain assessment was performed regularly and analgesic therapy was available to patients. The need for strong opioids was low, which may indicate that pain was adequately managed in most patients.
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