Are racial disparities in ED analgesia improving? Evidence from a national database.

Objective: Ethnic disparities in emergency department (ED) analgesic use have been noted previously; the purpose of this study was to determine if current ED practice has been altered subsequent to the widespread recognition of these inequalities.

Methods: Using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey, we analyzed ED analgesic treatment with respect to race for the complaints of headache (HA) and long bone fractures (LBF) for 1995 to 1999 (period A) and compared that with data for 2000 to 2003 (period B). We compared the use of "any analgesics" and "opioids" among blacks, whites, and Hispanics.