Prevalence of Chronic Pain After an Emergency Department Visit for Severe Acute Pain

The presence of pain is the most frequent reason for a patient to visit the emergency department. the investigators know that severe acute pain can be a risk factor for developing chronic pain.

Chronic pain is a symptom, devoid of biological utility, that persists despite the absence of nociceptive stimulus, even after a reasonable period of time that would have allowed the tissue lesion to heal. It is therefore a public health problem with a negative impact on patients' lives.

Chronic pain has been studied in anesthesia and surgery in recent years. In 2006, a study showed the appearance of chronic pain (incidence between 10-50%) in patients who had undergone routine surgery. On the other hand, few studies have looked at the occurrence of chronic pain in patients who came to the emergency department for acute pain.

It is in this context that the investigators find it relevant to assess the prevalence of moderate to severe chronic pain after an emergency department consultation for severe acute pain.

The physiological mechanisms of pain are better identified and the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors contributes to the onset of hyperalgesia. These receptors are activated under certain conditions, such as during intense and prolonged pain or exposure to high doses of opioids. In addition, the hyperalgesic effect of opioids is known and widely described in the literature. Finally, in the perioperative period, it is now accepted that the administration of a low dose of ketamine can combat these hyperalgesic effects thanks to its NMDA receptor inhibitory action. This effect may have an impact on pain at six months after surgery.

On the basis of these data, it seems relevant to question the prevalence of chronic pain in the course of an emergency department consultation, all the more so in patients with severe initial pain, in whom there is an initial indication for morphine titration, based on the recommendations of the French Society of Emergency Medicine (SFMU).

In addition, the investigators need to question the effects of initial analgesia administered in the emergency department for patients with severe acute pain. Is there a link between the use of certain molecules or the combination of molecules on the onset of chronic pain?

Inclusion criteria

• To have consulted in the emergency department between 4 to 5 months before reading the files to be contacted 6 months after the consultation in the emergency department;
• Initial pain ≥6 on the Numerical Pain Scale ;
• Acute pain that has been evolving for less than 7 days.
• No oral opposition of the subject required during the phone call

Exclusion criteria

• Patient who has undergone surgery in the direct course or within one month of the emergency department visit;
• Patient with suspected or confirmed coronary chest pain at the time of discharge from the emergency department;
• Patient with a mental disability;
• Patient dead;
• Patient who is deaf or hard of hearing;
• Patient who does not speak French or does not live in France
• Patient whose medical history was noted in the file as being impossible due to communication problems;
• Patient who left the emergency department before the end of medical care;
• Patient consulting for acutization of chronic pain;
• Patient during pregnancy;
• Patient consulting for a recent complication of care (within the month), surgical or other;
• Patient taking daily analgesic treatments in the last 2 months;
• Patient known to be dependent on opioids or treated with substitution therapy;
• Homeless patient;
• Patient who has been injured in the course of an assault or violence.