Effectiveness of a clinical guide for the treatment of postoperative pain in a major ambulatory surgery unit

Abstract

A retrospective study to evaluate a clinical guide for the treatment of postoperative pain in our One Day Surgery Unit (ODSU) is presented. A total of 2783 patients, treated during 1 year, were studied. Postoperative pain was evaluated 24 h after surgery by phone-call using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a verbal response scale (VRS). Results were analysed by groups of analgesia and pain scale values. Admissions due to insufficient analgesia were also evaluated. Mean values obtained in all analgesic groups in relation to the VAS were lower than 2.5. It was found that 86% of patients presented a value of VAS<3, while 84.6% had a VRS value 2. Only two patients were admitted for uncontrolled postoperative pain. The level of postoperative analgesia in our patients was satisfactory. Despite this continuous evaluation of the clinical guides for the treatment of postoperative pain, the use of new powerful analgesic drugs is necessary because the surgical complexity in ODSU is increasing and patients with associated diseases are increasingly accepted.