159 ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pain evaluation at emergency unit admission is vital for the establishment of strate- gies to manage it and minimize its costs. So, the objective of this study was to evaluate acute chest pain intensity in patients admitted to a cardiopulmonary emergency unit. METHODS: Tis is a quantitative study carried out in two mo- ments with patients admitted to a chest pain unit of the city of Fortaleza, state of Ceará, in the period from March 2007 to February 2010. Initial sample was made up of 430 patients and, after exclusion, 213 have remained. Visual analog scale was ap- plied in two moments and Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for analysis of scores, means and standard deviation. RESULTS: Tere were signifcant diferences between both mo- ments, with higher pain intensity scores in the frst moment as compared to the second, at signifcance level of 5%. Tere has been no correlation between the presence of cardiac or pulmo- nary disease and pain intensity. CONCLUSION: Pain evaluation is a challenge for professionals working in emergency units and further studies looking for new evaluation methods are necessary. Keywords: Chest pain, Emergencies, Pain, Pain evaluation, Vi- sual analog scale. RESUMO JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: A mensuração da dor no momento do acolhimento em emergência é uma conduta clínica vital para criação de estratégias visando o tratamento e minimi- zando seus custos. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste estudo foi mensurar a intensidade da dor torácica aguda de pacientes aten- didos em uma unidade de emergência cardiopulmonar. Acute chest pain intensity in a cardiopulmonary emergency unit Intensidade da dor torácica aguda em unidade de emergência cardiopulmonar Ana Cláudia de Souza Leite 1 , Luis Gustavo Oliveira Farias 1 , Amaurilio Oliveira Nogueira 1 , Edna Maria Camelo Chaves 1 1. Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Curso de Graduação em Enfermagem, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil. Submitted in June 16, 2016. Accepted for publication in August 22, 2016. Confict of interests: none – Sponsoring sources: Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desen- volvimento Científco e Tecnológico. Correspondence to: Av. Dr. Silas Muguba, 1700 - Campus do Itaperi 60740-000 Fortaleza, CE, Brasil. E-mail: aclaudiasleite@gmail.com © Sociedade Brasileira para o Estudo da Dor MÉTODOS: Pesquisa de natureza quantitativa realizada em dois momentos com pacientes atendidos em uma unidade de dor torácica do município de Fortaleza no estado do Ceará no período de março de 2007 a fevereiro de 2010. População com- posta de 430 pacientes que após exclusão formou-se amostra de 213. Aplicou-se a escala analógica visual em dois momentos e a análise dos escores obtidos, das médias e desvio padrão ocorreu por meio do teste de Wilcoxon e U de Mann-Whitney. RESULTADOS: Encontraram-se diferenças signifcativas entre os valores dos escores obtidos nos dois momentos, apresentando- se maiores escores de intensidade da dor no primeiro momento em relação ao segundo, ao nível de signifcância de 5%. A in- tensidade da dor quando associada com a presença de doença cardíaca ou pulmonar demonstrou não haver correlação. CONCLUSÃO: A mensuração da dor é um desafo para os pro- fssionais nas emergências e são necessários estudos que busquem novos métodos para avaliação da dor. Descritores: Dor, Dor no peito, Emergências, Escala analógica visual, Mensuração da dor. INTRODUCTION Acute chest pain is a major complaint of users assisted in Bra- zilian healthcare units, especially in emergency services where four million consultations are estimated per year 1 ; in addi- tion, acute coronary syndrome manifestations are complex and difcult to screen, which requires physicians and nurses’ experience with evaluation, measurement and identifcation of pain and of its possible causes 2 . Tese professionals need to confrm the presence of angina or coronary disease by thorough physical evaluation and com- plementary exams, and this requires fast and concise reason- ing due to emotional and cultural factors infuencing patients’ pain perception, as well as to diferent cardiac and non car- diac causes with clinical characteristics associated to vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and psychologi- cal systems 3 . Acute chest pain needs accurate clinical evaluation by means of diferent indicators also common to other types of pain, such as location, onset type, intensity, irradiation, type, dura- tion, recurrence, triggering, worsening or improving factors, associated signs and symptoms, comorbidities, risk factors and personal and family morbid history 4 . In this alarming situation, mortality by circulatory system diseases is high in Brazil. Statistical DATASUS data point to the highest mortality rate of 11.32% for the Southeastern re- gion and to the third highest rate (6.86%) for the Northeast- Rev Dor. São Paulo, 2016 jul-sep;17(3):159-63 ORIGINAL ARTICLE DOI 10.5935/1806-0013.20160063