[Assessment of knowledge and pain management by traumatological emergencies staff of the teaching hospital of Ouagadougou].

Introduction: Pain is a frequent reason of consultation in traumatological emergencies. Its management is characterized by oligoanalgesia whose causes are multiple. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and practices of pain management by traumatological emergencies staff of the teaching hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou.

Materials And Methods: A questionnaire survey of health workers performing in traumatological emergencies has been conducted. Two different questionnaires, one for medical staff and one for the paramedics were administered.

Results: A total of 67 health workers participated in the study with a participation rate of 98% and 100%, respectively, for the medical and paramedical staff. According to their report, 65.3% of medical and 77.7% of paramedical staff had never received training on pain and its management. For 85.7% of physicians, pain should be assessed before treatment, but 79.6% of them didn't know any conventional pain assessment method. All the nurses and 40.8% of physicians felt that pain in the emergency services should not be treated immediately to prevent misdiagnosis. Morphine and regional anesthesia were not used for pain treatment in the emergency room. 10.2% of medical staff and 27.8% of the paramedics said that they systematically search for the analgesicsside effects.

Conclusion: The knowledge of health workers about pain and its management is insufficient. The lack of training of health workers on the management of pain is the cause and contributes to explain the oligoanalgesia in this service.