Complications of continuous catheter analgesia for postoperative pain management in a tertiary care hospital. Incidence of technical complications and alternative analgesia methods used

Abstract

Abstract Background Continuous invasive analgesia remains the gold-standard method for managing acute post-operative pain after major surgery. However, this procedure is not exempt from complications that may have detrimental effects on the patient and affect the post-operative recovery process. Data of the complications of continuous catheter analgesic techniques (CCATs) and their impact on pain relief are scarce in the literature. Material and methods We conducted a prospective longitudinal study and patients who underwent a surgical procedure and received continuous invasive analgesia after surgery were included. Post-operative analgesic strategy, pain scores (NRS), CCAT's characteristics and technical complications were recorded. Patient satisfaction was determined. Descriptive statistics and Student's t-tests were applied for the comparative analyses. Results We collected data from 106 patients. Mean duration of the CCAT was 47.52 ± 21.23 h and 52 patients (49.1%) were controlled in conventional hospitalisation units whereas 54 patients (50.9%) were controlled on intensive or high-dependency care units. The overall incidence of technical complications was 9.43%. The most common complications were catheter displacement (2.38%), inflammation at the IV catheter insertion point (2.38%) and excessive dosing of analgesic drugs (2.38%). Mean NRS scores were ≤3 during the permanence of CCATs. Maximum pain intensity was significantly higher in patients who suffered technical complications (mean ± standard deviation [ x ¯ ± SD ] : 4.4 ± 2.8 vs. 2.9 ± 1.9; p Satisfaction levels with the technique and overall satisfaction with the pain management strategy were negatively impacted by the occurrence of complications. Conclusions The incidence of technical complications of CCATs was 9.43% and had a negative impact in pain control and patient's satisfaction.