The study aims to measure the impact of an inpatient pain management consult for acute pancreatitis (AP) on length of stay (LOS), Morphine Milligram Equivalences (MMEs) of medications, and pancreatitis severity.

This proof of concept study analyzed data from the electronic medical records of AP patients [ICD 10 code (K85)] who were non-pregnant, non-septic, and at least 18 years of age from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018. Data on patient demographics, clinical status, medication profile and AP severity markers (creatinine, calcium, amylase, lipase etc.) were extracted.

During the study period, there were 448 AP encounters with 320 (71.4%) representing patients with only one AP hospitalization. Of the 320 single AP encounter patients, 277 (86.6%) were included in the analysis based on the documentation in their records. Patients with only one AP hospitalization were divided into the two groups: treatment with an inpatient pain management consultation (n=23) and control without an inpatient pain management consultation (n=254). Wilcoxon Two-Sample Test yielded a statistically significant difference (p<0.0001) between the median LOS, median MME Total, and median MME per day of the treatment group (6.8 days, 196.5 MMEs, and 30.9 MMEs respectively) and the control group (3.1 days, 33.8 MMEs, and 12.1 MMEs respectively) with comparable severity and pain scores between the two groups.

Patients who received an inpatient pain management consultation had significantly longer LOS, higher MME Total, and MME per day than the control group. This study emphasizes the complexity of pain management and the importance of further research in the field.