Pain and quality of life 1 year after admission to the emergency department: factors associated with pain

Objectives This study describes the prevalence of pain in trauma patients 1 year after hospital admission and investigates separately health-related quality of life (QoL) for patients suffering severe pain and for those without pain. Moreover, psychosocial factors are examined for their impact on pain. Methods Patients were contacted 12 months after admission in order to complete the following questionnaires: Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Trauma Outcome Profile (TOP), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Impact of Event Scale—Revised (IES-R) and additional questions concerning satisfaction, work and financial status. Relevant pain at follow-up was defined as 15). One year after injury, 55 % of patients had relevant pain according to the TOP. Patients with pain were older (41.4 vs. 34.4 years, p = 0.003) and had slightly more severe injuries (ISS 17.1 vs. 14.9, p = 0.115). There were significant differences between pain and no-pain patients on all domains of QoL ( p