Oral analgesia for treatment of painful crisis in sickle cell anemia.

A therapeutic plan that emphasized oral narcotic analgesia was instituted for the treatment of painful crisis of sickle cell anemia. Of the 100 adult sickle cell syndrome patients registered at North Central Bronx Hospital, 15 were identified as using the emergency department facilities three or more times per year. This "frequent user" patient population was tracked in their hospital and drug usage patterns during the first full year of the oral protocol and compared to their own patterns during the year prior to the protocol. The patients used the ED at the same rate but their frequency of admissions to the hospital dropped by 75%. The oral program produced a significant fall in the amount of narcotics dispensed in the ED (P less than .01).