Improving Vaso-occlusive Pain Through Standardized Sickle Cell Pain-Treatment Guidelines
Abstract
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a debilitating genetic disorder associated with severe complications, notably vaso-occlusive pain (VOP) that increases opioid use and emergency department visits. A clinical practice guideline was implemented to improve VOP management by introducing standardized SCD pain-treatment guidelines, which feature individualized pain action plans, incorporate disease-modifying therapies, and include routine depression screening. Of the 34 patients, from pre- to post-implementation, the mean Patient Health Questionnaire—9 score decreased by ∼ 39% ( P < .001) , and the mean number of emergency department visits decreased by ∼ 32% ( P < .0001).
Fields of Study & Subjects
Hemoglobinopathies and Related Disorders
Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
Clinical practice guidelines implementation
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Journal for Nurse Practitioners
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 105688–105688
- Publication date
- 30 January 2026
- Language
- EN