Inpatients Admitted with a Chief Complaint of Pain Have Lower In-Hospital Mortality: A Single-Center Study of 645,998 Inpatients.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between pain and mortality risk has not been well established. AIMS: This study aimed to assess the possible association between a chief complaint of pain and in-hospital mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using 11-year hospital administrative data. SETTING: Southwest Hospital of Third Military Medical University (Chongqing, China). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 645,998 adult inpatients admitted without department limitation between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2013. METHODS: Information on the chief complaint at admission was obtained, and the main outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The crude overall in-hospital mortality rate for patients admitted with chief complaint of pain was 958 (3.9%), which was significantly lower than that of patients without pain (1,970, 4.9%). The risk of hospital death for inpatients admitted with pain was 21% lower compared to inpatients admitted without pain (p < .001). Female patients with a chief complaint of pain had a lower risk of in-hospital mortality (p < .001) compared with male patients (p < .001). When stratified by location of pain, patients with chest pain had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared with those without complaint of pain (p < .001), whereas for patients with a chief complaint of waist, abdominal, limb, or joint pain, the risk of hospital death was lower compared with cases without pain. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggested that inpatients admitted with a chief complaint of pain might have a significantly lower risk of in-hospital mortality compared with those admitted without a chief complaint of pain.