Study data show reduction in pain after inpatient surgery during past 10 years

Since 2003, pain rates in patients who underwent inpatient surgery have been greatly reduced, according to research presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Anesthesiology Annual Meeting.

Researchers surveyed 441 patients who underwent inpatient surgery before they were discharged from the hospital and at 1, 2 and 3 weeks after surgery. The survey asked patients to grade their levels of pain intensity on a scale from no pain to extreme pain, and asked patients to rate their satisfaction with the pain medication they were given. The collected survey data were compared with data from a similar study conducted between 1998 and 2002.

Study results showed a decrease in patients who experienced moderate-to-extreme pain from 63% in 2003 to 39% in 2014, and 22% of patients reported no pain in both studies. The researchers also found patient satisfaction with pain management was high in both 2003 and 2014, with most patients reporting that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their pain management.

“During the last 10 years there have been significant changes in hospitals to support better pain management post-surgery,” Asokumar Buvanendran, MD, director of orthopedic anesthesia at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said in a press release. “Our study shows that health care providers are implementing better pain protocols and heading in the right direction.”

Reference:

Buvanendran A. Abstract #A4212. Presented at: Anesthesiology Annual Meeting. Oct. 11-15, 2014; New Orleans.

Disclosure: Buvanendran is a paid consultant on multimodal analgesia, has stock options in vital 5, received research support from Pfizer, is on the editorial/governing board for Anesthesia & Analgesia Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, and is a board member for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.