Pain control after major surgery

Abstract

Objective: To assess the adequacy and efficacy of postoperative pain management. Design: A prospective clinical study. Sening: 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: AU the patients experienced pain postoperatively. Sixty one per cent of patients considered their pain severe, 30% rated it moderate and only 9% mild. Reasons for this deficiency of care are partly attributable to the patients themselves and also the health dare staff. Conclusions: Postoperative pain is poorly managed in our general hospitals.

East African Medical Journal, May 1999, 269-271