Pain control after major surgery

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess the adequacy and efficacy of postoperative pain management. DESIGN: A prospective clinical study. SETTING: The Georgetown and New Amsterdam Public Hospitals, Guyana. SUBJECTS: Two hundred consecutive patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence or absence of significant postoperative pain during the first 24 hours. RESULTS: All the patients experienced pain postoperatively. Sixty one percent of patients considered their pain severe, 30 percent rated it moderate and only 9 percent mild. Reasons for this deficiency of care are partly attributable to the patients themselves and also the health care staff. CONCLUSIONS: Postopertive pain is poorly managed in our general hospitals. (AU)