Paula Tanabe, vice dean, research, was interviewed for "Most Sickle Cell Disease Patients Avoid EDs During Pain Attacks" for the ED LEGAL LETTER. Research from DUSON faculty and staff, including Tanabe, is cited:

1. "Patient Perspectives of Sickle Cell Management in the Emergency Department" in "Critical Care Nursing Quarterly" 
   • DUSON Authors: Nancy Crego, assistant professor, Rita Masese, associate in research, Emily Bonnabeau, former clinical research coordinator, Tanabe
2. "Safety of An ED High-Dose Opioid Protocol for Sickle Cell Disease Pain" in "Journal of Emergency Nursing"
   • DUSON Authors: Tanabe
3. "Trial design of comparing patient-specific versus weight-based protocols to treat vaso-occlusive episodes in sickle cell disease (COMPARE-VOE)" in "Contemporary Clinical Trials"
   • DUSON Authors: Stephanie Ibemere, assistant professor, Jacqueline L. Brown, assistant director of assessment and evaluation, IPEC, and Tanabe
4. "A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Two Vaso-occlusive Episode (VOE) Protocols in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)" in "American Journal of Hematology" 
   • DUSON Authors: Tanabe, and Susan Silva, associate professor
5. "1/2 A Comparison of Individualized vs. Weight Based Protocols to Treat Vaso-occlusive Episodes in Sickle Cell Disease (COMPARE VOE)"
   • DUSON Connection: Tanabe

Excerpt

Sixty percent of patients with sickle cell disease say they “very much” or “quite a bit” avoid going to the ED during a pain attack because of a previous bad experience.

Researchers gathered input from 51 patients with sickle cell disease regarding the care they receive in EDs. Many reported experiencing stigma because of providers’ suspicions of drug-seeking behavior. Half said they waited at least two hours for treatment. In terms of how sickle cell disease is managed in the ED setting, “there is a lot of attention on it, but there is still a lot of need for education overall,” says Paula Tanabe, PhD, RN, FAEN, FAAN, one of the study’s authors. Tanabe is vice dean for research at Duke University.

In many EDs, sickle cell pain episodes continue to be managed poorly. “There is still a lot of concern about opioid addiction and a mindset that patients don’t have real pain. Timely and adequate pain medication is still the No. 1 problem,” Tanabe says.

The hope is that with rapid and aggressive treatment, pain can be controlled enough to allow for discharge. “That can result in a lower hospital admission rate, which is good for the patient, good for the hospital, and good for costs,” Tanabe says.