Hypnosis in the treatment of acute pain in the emergency department setting.

Emergency ward physicians are presented daily with patients in pain. Provisions of safe, quick pain control remains one of their major duties. Hypnosis can be used as an effective adjunct or substitute for analgesic medications when these drugs prove to be ineffective or contraindicated. Four such illustrative cases of attempted pain control are presented. The psychological foundations of pain and its assessment are discussed. The emergency ward physician can obtain facility in hypnotic techniques with only modest training. Hypnosis may then become a valuable tool in helping him provide safe and effective pain management.