Authors: Seraj Munir Wali , Mansour Nasser Alqahtani , Ahmad Hassan Bakhribah , Ahmed Allabban , Ahmad Aalam

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to describe the real‑world effect of a single 1 g intravenous (IV) paracetamol dose across a broad mix of emergency department (ED) presentations in the current study setting.

Methods: A prospective observational pre–post study of 200 adults was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah. Pain was measured before administration and again 30 minutes to 4 hours later using the Numeric Rating Scale and Wong‑Baker FACES scale.

Results: The study population comprised 200 emergency department patients with a male predominance (60.5% vs. 39.5% female). The cohort had a mean age of 37.3 years (SD 14.1). Notably, 47.0% of patients had no documented comorbidities. Both pain assessment scales demonstrated statistically significant reductions in pain scores following single-dose intravenous paracetamol administration (p < 0.001). The statistical significance (Z = -12.51, p < 0.001) confirmed the consistent analgesic effect across both measurement scales. Patients with chest pain had smaller reductions, while those with flank pain showed greater reductions. The
multiple linear regression analysis reinforced that paracetamol’s analgesic efficacy appeared independent of basic demographic characteristics.

Conclusion: The single‑dose IV paracetamol produced meaningful pain relief across common presentations. The degree of improvement differed by complaint, highlighting the importance of multimodal, diagnosis‑specific strategies.

Keywords: Intravenous paracetamol, pain management, emergency department, acute pain, analgesia, observational study.