Satisfied or not satisfied: pain experiences of patients with sickle cell disease

Aims: To examine the relationship between pain and satisfaction in patients with sickle cell disease.

Background: Frequency and severity of unrelieved sickle cell pain are positively associated with mortality. Yet, information is scarce on whether sickle cell patients are satisfied with their pain level.

Design: A cross-sectional, correlational analysis of baseline data from a randomized clinical trial.

Methods: A randomized sample of adult outpatients was recruited between February 2007-March 2011. Patients completed the PAINReportIt(®) , containing measures of pain, satisfaction and socio-demographics. We analysed data using Kendall's rank correlations, analysis of variance, Tukey-Kramer post hoc tests, Fisher's tests and proportional odds logistic regression.

Results: There were statistically significant correlations between pain outcomes and satisfaction with pain level, but average pain intensity more strongly discriminated groups based on satisfaction with pain level. Among pain variables bivariately associated with patient satisfaction with pain level, only pain expectation maintained its significant relationship with satisfaction with pain level when average pain intensity was controlled. A smaller percentage of our sickle cell patients reported moderate to severe pain intensity (28%) or high composite pain index (39%), while reporting being satisfied with pain their level than reported in earlier studies using different measures and populations (70-94%).

Conclusion: Satisfaction with pain level was an unambiguous measure of patient satisfaction and a promising indicator of pain that did not show the paradoxical relationship between satisfaction and pain seen with past measures.