Postoperative pain treatment. What’s the evidence—And how to use it?
-
Ole Mathiesen
In contemporary evidence-based postoperative pain treatment, attenuation of pain is achieved by the combination of different analgesics working at different pain mechanisms, e.g. nociceptive, neuropathic and inflammatory pain mechanisms. In that way, an additive or even synergistic effect on pain can be achieved and pain during mobilization improved. Another achievement from multimodal treatment is a reduction of opioid consumption and thereby also its well known side-effects.
Improved analgesia from combinations of different analgesic drugs or methods has been demonstrated in meta-analysis for paracetamol + NSAID [1] and in randomized controlled trials for a wide range of regimens such as e.g. paracetamol+ NSAIDs + gabapentin, or paracetamol + NSAID + gabapentin + glucocorticoids [2].
However, postoperative pain management continues to represent a significant clinical challenge. Recent surveys demonstrate that 75% of patients experience pain after surgery and up to 30% experience moderate to severe postoperative pain.
To handle the challenge of an optimal postoperative analgesic treatment, an interdisciplinary collaboration is required between all involved staff in the course of the patients from admission to discharge. It also requires an updated knowledge and education on pain treatment. And finally, it requires introduction of procedure-specific pain and nausea treatments plans based on best knowledge and incorporated into daily practice with concomitant monitoring of implementation and results. As a consequence, a coordination project- and research unit that works cross sectional and is able to facilitate and promote collaboration between a wide range of clinical staff is warranted.
So, the way forward has to be met at the organizational level, and represents a natural extension of the work of the traditional acute pain service [2]. The focus of this work is to facilitate, develop, teach and implement updated procedure-specific postoperative pain treatment plans on the hospital. Plans that should be based on collection of data both before and after implementation in order to document results and adjust if required. Finally, these plans should be incorporated with fast-track treatment programs to achieve the full advantages of a better pain treatment.
References
[1] Ong CK, Seymour RA, Lirk P, Merry AF. Combining paracetamol (acetaminophen) with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs: a qualitative systematic review of analgesic efficacy for acute postoperative pain. Anesthesia and Analgesia 2010;110:1170–9.Suche in Google Scholar
[2] White, Kehlet. Improving postoperative pain management. What are the unsolved issues? Anesthesiology 2010;112:220–5.Suche in Google Scholar
Recommended reading
[3] Lunn TH, Kristensen BB, Andersen LØ, Husted H, Otte KS, Gaarn-Larsen L, et al. Effect of high-dose preoperative methylprednisolone on pain and recovery after total knee arthroplasty: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2011;106:230–8.Suche in Google Scholar
© 2012 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Editorial comment
- Spontaneous pain is reduced by conditioning pain modulation in peripheral neuropathy but not in fibromyalgia—Implications for different pain mechanisms
- Clinical pain research
- Differential pain modulation in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia
- Editorial comment
- Pulsed radiofrequency—Time for a clinical pause and more science
- Clinical pain research
- Pulsed radiofrequency in peripheral posttraumatic neuropathic pain: A double blind sham controlled randomized clinical trial
- Editorial comment
- Phantom pains and sensations – how does it feel? Only the patient really knows
- Clinical pain research
- Phantom phenomena – Their perceived qualities and consequences from the patient’s perspective
- Editorial comment
- Impact of mental stressor on conditioned pain modulation
- Original experimental
- The effect of a mental stressor on conditioned pain modulation in healthy subjects
- Editorial comment
- Pharmacological modulation of chronic pain after whiplash injury
- Clinical pain research
- Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD): Responses to pharmacological challenges and psychometric tests
- Editorial comment
- Why are autonomic responses to pressure pain different from those to heat pain and ischaemic pain?
- Original experimental
- Cardiovascular responses to and modulation of pressure pain sensitivity in normotensive, pain-free women
- Correspondence
- Piriformis muscle injection guided by sciatic nerve stimulation: Quick, simple, and safe technique
- Correspondence
- Musculus piriformis syndrome: Localization and injection therapy—Comment to letter from Mayo-Moldes M et al. [1]
- Abstracts
- The “pain matrix” reloaded
- Abstracts
- Endpoints in animal pain models
- Abstracts
- Evaluating pain-related behavior in spinal cord injury
- Abstracts
- The role of the amygdala in sensory and emotional-like pain behavior in neuropathic animals
- Abstracts
- Peripheral and central pain mechanisms—From animal models to clinical research
- Abstracts
- Human experimental models of central sensitization—Do they bridge the gap between animal models and clinical observations?
- Abstracts
- Assessment of central sensitization in the clinic. Is it possible?
- Abstracts
- Migraine neurobiology and treatment
- Abstracts
- Chronic headaches–Goals and obstacles
- Abstracts
- Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial neuralgias
- Abstracts
- Temporomandibular disorders: Pathophysiology and diagnosis
- Abstracts
- HIV-associated painful polyneuropathy
- Abstracts
- Keynote: Neuronal and glial signalling in pain neuroplasticity
- Abstracts
- Neuropathic pain—From guidelines to clinical practice
- Abstracts
- Postoperative pain treatment. What’s the evidence—And how to use it?
- Abstracts
- NSAIDs in postoperative pain
- Abstracts
- How should we prevent persistent postoperative pain?
- Abstracts
- Opioids: Genetics and receptors
- Abstracts
- Chronic pain and sleep disorders
- Abstracts
- Population-based studies on chronic pain: The role of opioids
- Abstracts
- Living beyond pain: Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Abstracts
- Modality specific alterations of esophageal sensitivity caused by longstanding diabetes mellitus
- Abstracts
- Validation of a porcine behavioural model of UVB induced inflammatory pain
- Abstracts
- Recovery after a lumbar disc herniation is dependent on a gender and OPRM1 Asn40Asp genotype interaction
- Abstracts
- Pain sensitivity changes in chronic pain patients with and without spinal cord stimulation assessed by nociceptive withdrawal reflex thresholds and electrical pain thresholds
- Abstracts
- Acceptance and commitment therapy for fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial
- Abstracts
- Sortilins in neuropathic pain
- Abstracts
- Systematic review of neuropathic component in persistent post-surgical pain
- Abstracts
- Pain prevalence in a university hospital in Iceland
- Abstracts
- The effect of tail-docking neonate piglets on ATF-3 and NR2B immunoreactivity in coccygeal dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord dorsal horn neurons: Preliminary data
- Abstracts
- Na+/K+-ATPase dependent regulation of astrocyte Ca2+ signalling: A novel mechanism for modulation of long-term pain?
- Abstracts
- Glutamate attenuates nitric oxide release from isolated trigeminal ganglion satellite glial cells
- Abstracts
- Acute behavioural responses to tail docking in piglets – Effects of increasing docking length?
- Abstracts
- Dose and administration-period play a key role in the effect of ceftriaxone on neuropathic pain in CCI-operated rats
- Abstracts
- Translational aspects of rectal evoked potentials: A comparative study in rats and humans
- Abstracts
- Time-course of analgesic effects of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNTA) on human experimental model of pain induced by injection of glutamate into temporalis muscle
- Abstracts
- The effect of nerve compression and capsaicin on contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) related to Aδ and C fibers
- Abstracts
- Effect of specific trapezius exercises vs. coordination training on corticomotor control of neck muscles
- Abstracts
- SNP in TNFα T308G is predictive for persistent postoperative pain following inguinal hernia surgery
- Abstracts
- Chronic pain in thoracotomy
- Abstracts
- The variability in thermal threshold-assessments in post-thoracotomy pain syndrome
- Abstracts
- Persistent pain, sensory disturbances and functional impairment after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
- Abstracts
- Neuroplastic alterations in brain responses to painful visceral stimulations reflects individual neuropathic symptoms in diabetes mellitus patients
- Abstracts
- Exercise and conditioned pain modulation have different effects on cuff pressure pain tolerance in humans
- Abstracts
- Hyperalgesia in human skin and deep-tissues inside and outside of a UVB irradiated area
- Abstracts
- Effect of experimental jaw muscle pain on bite force during mastication
- Abstracts
- Reflex threshold assessment methodology for evaluation of central sensitisation is vulnerable to EMG crosstalk
- Abstracts
- Cognitive modulation of experimental pain at spinal and cortical levels
- Abstracts
- Influence of emotionally loaded visual and gustatory stimuli on pain perception
- Abstracts
- Modulating pain with augmented reality
- Abstracts
- Offset analgesia: A reproducibility study
- Abstracts
- Visualization of painful process in peripheral tissue using positron emission tomography and [11C]-D-deprenyl
- Abstracts
- Mirror-image sensory dysfunction in the post-thoracotomy pain syndrome
- Abstracts
- Genetic variation in opioid receptor genes and sensitivity to experimental pain in male and female healthy volunteers
- Abstracts
- Mechanical sensitivity in migraine patients during attack, remission, and pain-free periods:A preliminary study
- Abstracts
- Multivariate pattern analysis of evoked brain potentials by temporal matching pursuit and support vector machine
- Abstracts
- Pain following stroke: A prospective study
- Abstracts
- Chronic thoracic pain in children after cardiac surgery
- Abstracts
- Chronic pain after breast augmentation is associated with both signs of peripheral nerve injury and central nervous mechanisms
- Abstracts
- Sensory phenotypes in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain evaluated with quantitative sensory testing
- Abstracts
- Is health related quality of life related to the pattern of chronic pain?
- Abstracts
- Comparison between ropivacaine local infiltration analgesia with ketorolac or placebo for total knee replacement surgery
- Abstracts
- Treatment with topical capsaicin: Experience from a pain clinic
- Abstracts
- Distribution of concussion related symptoms after whiplash injury in risk strata
- Abstracts
- HIV/AIDS in different cultures
- Abstracts
- Pain perception is altered in patients with medication-overuse headache but can improve after detoxification
- Abstracts
- Detoxification in a structured programme is effective for medication-overuse headache
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Editorial comment
- Spontaneous pain is reduced by conditioning pain modulation in peripheral neuropathy but not in fibromyalgia—Implications for different pain mechanisms
- Clinical pain research
- Differential pain modulation in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia
- Editorial comment
- Pulsed radiofrequency—Time for a clinical pause and more science
- Clinical pain research
- Pulsed radiofrequency in peripheral posttraumatic neuropathic pain: A double blind sham controlled randomized clinical trial
- Editorial comment
- Phantom pains and sensations – how does it feel? Only the patient really knows
- Clinical pain research
- Phantom phenomena – Their perceived qualities and consequences from the patient’s perspective
- Editorial comment
- Impact of mental stressor on conditioned pain modulation
- Original experimental
- The effect of a mental stressor on conditioned pain modulation in healthy subjects
- Editorial comment
- Pharmacological modulation of chronic pain after whiplash injury
- Clinical pain research
- Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD): Responses to pharmacological challenges and psychometric tests
- Editorial comment
- Why are autonomic responses to pressure pain different from those to heat pain and ischaemic pain?
- Original experimental
- Cardiovascular responses to and modulation of pressure pain sensitivity in normotensive, pain-free women
- Correspondence
- Piriformis muscle injection guided by sciatic nerve stimulation: Quick, simple, and safe technique
- Correspondence
- Musculus piriformis syndrome: Localization and injection therapy—Comment to letter from Mayo-Moldes M et al. [1]
- Abstracts
- The “pain matrix” reloaded
- Abstracts
- Endpoints in animal pain models
- Abstracts
- Evaluating pain-related behavior in spinal cord injury
- Abstracts
- The role of the amygdala in sensory and emotional-like pain behavior in neuropathic animals
- Abstracts
- Peripheral and central pain mechanisms—From animal models to clinical research
- Abstracts
- Human experimental models of central sensitization—Do they bridge the gap between animal models and clinical observations?
- Abstracts
- Assessment of central sensitization in the clinic. Is it possible?
- Abstracts
- Migraine neurobiology and treatment
- Abstracts
- Chronic headaches–Goals and obstacles
- Abstracts
- Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial neuralgias
- Abstracts
- Temporomandibular disorders: Pathophysiology and diagnosis
- Abstracts
- HIV-associated painful polyneuropathy
- Abstracts
- Keynote: Neuronal and glial signalling in pain neuroplasticity
- Abstracts
- Neuropathic pain—From guidelines to clinical practice
- Abstracts
- Postoperative pain treatment. What’s the evidence—And how to use it?
- Abstracts
- NSAIDs in postoperative pain
- Abstracts
- How should we prevent persistent postoperative pain?
- Abstracts
- Opioids: Genetics and receptors
- Abstracts
- Chronic pain and sleep disorders
- Abstracts
- Population-based studies on chronic pain: The role of opioids
- Abstracts
- Living beyond pain: Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Abstracts
- Modality specific alterations of esophageal sensitivity caused by longstanding diabetes mellitus
- Abstracts
- Validation of a porcine behavioural model of UVB induced inflammatory pain
- Abstracts
- Recovery after a lumbar disc herniation is dependent on a gender and OPRM1 Asn40Asp genotype interaction
- Abstracts
- Pain sensitivity changes in chronic pain patients with and without spinal cord stimulation assessed by nociceptive withdrawal reflex thresholds and electrical pain thresholds
- Abstracts
- Acceptance and commitment therapy for fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial
- Abstracts
- Sortilins in neuropathic pain
- Abstracts
- Systematic review of neuropathic component in persistent post-surgical pain
- Abstracts
- Pain prevalence in a university hospital in Iceland
- Abstracts
- The effect of tail-docking neonate piglets on ATF-3 and NR2B immunoreactivity in coccygeal dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord dorsal horn neurons: Preliminary data
- Abstracts
- Na+/K+-ATPase dependent regulation of astrocyte Ca2+ signalling: A novel mechanism for modulation of long-term pain?
- Abstracts
- Glutamate attenuates nitric oxide release from isolated trigeminal ganglion satellite glial cells
- Abstracts
- Acute behavioural responses to tail docking in piglets – Effects of increasing docking length?
- Abstracts
- Dose and administration-period play a key role in the effect of ceftriaxone on neuropathic pain in CCI-operated rats
- Abstracts
- Translational aspects of rectal evoked potentials: A comparative study in rats and humans
- Abstracts
- Time-course of analgesic effects of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNTA) on human experimental model of pain induced by injection of glutamate into temporalis muscle
- Abstracts
- The effect of nerve compression and capsaicin on contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) related to Aδ and C fibers
- Abstracts
- Effect of specific trapezius exercises vs. coordination training on corticomotor control of neck muscles
- Abstracts
- SNP in TNFα T308G is predictive for persistent postoperative pain following inguinal hernia surgery
- Abstracts
- Chronic pain in thoracotomy
- Abstracts
- The variability in thermal threshold-assessments in post-thoracotomy pain syndrome
- Abstracts
- Persistent pain, sensory disturbances and functional impairment after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
- Abstracts
- Neuroplastic alterations in brain responses to painful visceral stimulations reflects individual neuropathic symptoms in diabetes mellitus patients
- Abstracts
- Exercise and conditioned pain modulation have different effects on cuff pressure pain tolerance in humans
- Abstracts
- Hyperalgesia in human skin and deep-tissues inside and outside of a UVB irradiated area
- Abstracts
- Effect of experimental jaw muscle pain on bite force during mastication
- Abstracts
- Reflex threshold assessment methodology for evaluation of central sensitisation is vulnerable to EMG crosstalk
- Abstracts
- Cognitive modulation of experimental pain at spinal and cortical levels
- Abstracts
- Influence of emotionally loaded visual and gustatory stimuli on pain perception
- Abstracts
- Modulating pain with augmented reality
- Abstracts
- Offset analgesia: A reproducibility study
- Abstracts
- Visualization of painful process in peripheral tissue using positron emission tomography and [11C]-D-deprenyl
- Abstracts
- Mirror-image sensory dysfunction in the post-thoracotomy pain syndrome
- Abstracts
- Genetic variation in opioid receptor genes and sensitivity to experimental pain in male and female healthy volunteers
- Abstracts
- Mechanical sensitivity in migraine patients during attack, remission, and pain-free periods:A preliminary study
- Abstracts
- Multivariate pattern analysis of evoked brain potentials by temporal matching pursuit and support vector machine
- Abstracts
- Pain following stroke: A prospective study
- Abstracts
- Chronic thoracic pain in children after cardiac surgery
- Abstracts
- Chronic pain after breast augmentation is associated with both signs of peripheral nerve injury and central nervous mechanisms
- Abstracts
- Sensory phenotypes in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain evaluated with quantitative sensory testing
- Abstracts
- Is health related quality of life related to the pattern of chronic pain?
- Abstracts
- Comparison between ropivacaine local infiltration analgesia with ketorolac or placebo for total knee replacement surgery
- Abstracts
- Treatment with topical capsaicin: Experience from a pain clinic
- Abstracts
- Distribution of concussion related symptoms after whiplash injury in risk strata
- Abstracts
- HIV/AIDS in different cultures
- Abstracts
- Pain perception is altered in patients with medication-overuse headache but can improve after detoxification
- Abstracts
- Detoxification in a structured programme is effective for medication-overuse headache