Timeliness and Adherence to Opioid Administration Guidelines for Acute Sickle Cell Pain in Pediatric Patients: A Comparison of Pediatric and Adult Emergency Departments.

Publication/Presentation Date

8-1-2026

Abstract

We leveraged the Epic Cosmos database to compare the timeliness of opioid administration for children with sickle cell disease pain in pediatric and adult emergency departments (EDs). Our analysis of 44,415 ED visits from 2019 to 2025 demonstrated that median times to the first and second opioid doses were substantially shorter in pediatric EDs (44 and 38 min, respectively) compared with adult EDs (76 and 78 min, respectively). Adherence to national guidelines recommending pain treatment within one hour of arrival was higher in pediatric EDs (64.9%) compared with adult EDs (37.3%). These results underscore significant disparities in care.

Volume

73

Issue

8

First Page

70410

Last Page

70410

ISSN

1545-5017

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

42136009

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article

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