
Renal colic, which affects between 2-3% of the world’s population, commonly presents to the ED. It may present at any age, although there are certain groups more predisposed.
You will often see renal colic patients writhing in agony since the pain is sometimes considered worse than that of childbirth.
Management in the ED focuses on:
- Diagnosing renal colic and eliminating other ‘red flag’ histories
- Delivering sufficient analgesia to manage pain
- Identifying cases that require invasive intervention, for example an infected obstructed system, and hospitalising those with uncontrolled pain or complications such as infection
- Determining when it is safe to discharge the patient