Introducing an acute pain service

An acute pain service in a new district general hospital is described. We have reported incidence of severe pain, common postoperative anaesthetic problems and patient satisfaction in relation to the analgesic technique. Over half the patients were treated by intermittent intramuscular injection of opioid, but increase in the use of continuous intravenous therapy and in particular patient-controlled analgesia, was welcomed by both medical and nursing staff.     

The effect of education, assessment and a standardised prescription on postoperative pain management The value of clinical audit in the establishment of acute pain services

A study involving 2738 patients in 15 hospitals in the United Kingdom was undertaken to evaluate the effect of simple methods of pain assessment and management on postoperative pain. The study consisted of four parts: a survey of current practice in each hospital; a programme of education for staff and patients regarding pain and its management; the introduction of formal assessment and recording of pain and the use of a simple algorithm to allow more flexible, yet safe, provision of intermittent intramuscular opioid analgesia; and a repeat survey of practice. One hospital from each of the former health regions of England and Wales was selected for inclusion in the project. Hospitals included representatives of different size units (university, large and small district general hospitals). As a result of the study, there was an overall reduction in the percentage of patients who experienced moderate to severe pain at rest from 32% to 12%. The incidence of severe pain on movement decreased from 37% to 13% and moderate to severe pain on deep inspiration from 41% to 22%. Similar decreases were seen in the incidence of nausea and vomiting. There was also a slight reduction in the incidence of postoperative complications. This study shows that simple techniques for the management of postoperative pain are effective in reducing the incidence of pain both at rest and during movement and should form part of any acute pain management strategy.     

The acute pain service: effective or expensive care?

The effect of introducing an Acute Pain Service into a District General Hospital was evaluated by conducting an audit of pain, emesis, sleep and satisfaction before and after inception. A total of 1518 questionnaires were collected, in which surgical patients had been asked to assess their experience pre- and postoperatively. The introduction of an Acute Pain Service significantly (p < 0.0001) improved in-patient perception of pain relief upon return of consciousness after anaesthesia and for 2 days postoperatively, when compared with the experience before its inception. The incidence of emetic sequelae did not increase and both patient satisfaction (p < 0.001) and sleep pattern (p < 0.05) in hospital were significantly improved. An estimate of the economic benefit suggests that the development of Acute Pain Services may be cost effective as well as providing an improved quality of service for patients undergoing surgery.     

急性疼痛服务团队早期干预对患者术后自控镇痛效果的影响

目的 评价急性疼痛服务( APS)团队早期干预对术后白控镇痛效果的影响.方法 选择2011年11～12月,在本院手术并要求术后镇痛的患者1467例,按手术月份分为对照组和干预组,其中11月份患者为对照组(n =725),12月份患者为干预组(n=742).术后均采用舒芬太尼PCIA.对照组由负责麻醉的医生和责任护士常规术前宣教、介绍PCA使用的意义、操作要点、注意事项,嘱咐患者疼痛时,按压电子镇痛泵,如10min后无缓解,由APS医生调整镇痛泵参数或加用其他镇痛药物;干预组由麻醉科APS医生、复苏室专职疼痛护士和病房疼痛护士给予系统的疼痛控制教育,包括PCA使用的意义、操作要点、镇痛药物的介绍和注意事项、疼痛评估方法及超前镇痛的必要性,在手术前和出复苏室前给予2次疼痛教育,嘱咐患者在活动前或轻度疼痛时(VAS≤3分)按压自控镇痛泵,疼痛剧烈时由APS医生调整镇痛泵参数或加用其他镇痛药物.记录镇痛不全、不良反应的发生情况及患者满意度.结果 与对照组比较,干预组镇痛不全发生率降低,患者满意度升高(P＜0.05),不良反应发生率差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).结论 APS团队早期干预可增强术后自控镇痛效果,提高患者的满意度.     

An audit of airway problems in the recovery room

It has recently been suggested that recovery rooms should have dedicated anaesthetic cover during working hours to deal with serious life-threatening problems. This audit was undertaken to determine the incidence and severity of airway problems that occurred in the recovery room at a District General Hospital. One thousand consecutive patients who received a general anaesthetic were assessed. If an airway problem was identified, the patient's notes were examined to document the type of surgery and any predisposing factors which may have contributed. The incidence of airway problems in this study was found to be 2.8%, which was in agreement with previous studies and appears too low to warrant a full-time anaesthetic presence.     

Parenteral aspirin for pain relief in day-case dental anaesthesia. A randomised double blind placebo controlled trial

Forty patients undergoing day-case anaesthesia for surgical extraction of third molar teeth received either lysine acetylsalicylate 1.8 g in 10 ml of saline intravenously or a placebo injection of 10 ml of saline intravenously just prior to induction of anaesthesia. Lysine acetylsalicylate was associated with a significantly more satisfactory postoperative recovery overall. However, there was no significant difference in mean pain scores between the two treatment groups at 1, 6, 12 or 24 hours following administration. Both treatment groups self administered additional oral analgesics to the same extent during the first 24 hours following surgery.     

Validation of three paediatric pain scores for use by parents

Twenty children undergoing general surgery and 20 children undergoing otorhinolaryngological surgery were simultaneously assessed on two occasions by a doctor and a parent using three pain scoring systems. The pain scoring systems used were the Objective Pain Score, a four point numerical score and a 100 mm visual analogue scale. There was a high correlation between the scores given by the doctor and by the parents for all three scoring systems with parents consistently giving slightly higher scores than the doctor. The correlation coefficients for parental and medical pain scores in recovery were 0.77 for the Objective Pain Score, 0.70 for the four point numerical score and 0.69 for the visual analogue scale (p < 0.01). At 1 h after leaving the recovery area the correlation coefficients were 0.81, 0.80 and 0.73 respectively (p < 0.01). These results suggest that parental scoring of pain in children will be useful in future audit and research of analgesic regimens, particularly in day-case surgery.     

Delivering an acute pain service

Traditionally it has been the inpatient pain team's role to treat patients in pain while in an inpatient setting. The future is seeing the inpatient pain team's input being extended to the whole patient's journey including preoperatively and post-discharge. The treatment of a patient's pain is primarily an ethical and humanitarian obligation but effective pain management may also improve clinical outcomes. The treatment of pain from surgery or trauma reduces complication rates for example by improving mobilization and a patient's ability to take deep breaths and cough. When patients mobilize early they reduce their risk of venous thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism and pressure sores. A patient that cannot adequately cough or take deep breaths due to pain is at higher risk of pneumonia and respiratory compromise. From a health economics perspective patients who mobilize earlier and have fewer complications spend less time in hospital and therefore cost less. Untreated severe pain may also predispose patients to develop chronic pain or to take opioid pain medication for prolonged periods of time.     

Audit of postoperative pain control Influence of a dedicated acute pain nurse

The inadequacies of conventional intramuscular opioid analgesia have fuelled an expansion in the use of patient-controlled analgesia and epidural analgesia after surgery. This is not always accompanied by increased education and specialist supervision of ward staff and patients. A survey in our hospital prior to the appointment of an Acute Pain Nurse showed an unacceptable incidence of side effects when epidural analgesia was employed on ordinary surgical wards. More surprisingly, efficacy of patient-controlled analgesia was found to be low. Frequent review of patients and regular education of ward staff by a specialist Pain Nurse have achieved a substantial reduction in side effects of epidural analgesia and improvement in efficacy of patient-controlled analgesia. We have shown that the advantages of patient-controlled analgesia can be largely negated by failure to address deficiencies in knowledge of pain management amongst ward staff and patients.     

异丙酚注射痛预测人工流产术后疼痛程度的准确性

目的 评价异丙酚注射痛预测术后疼痛程度的准确性.方法 拟行无痛人工流产手术的患者7l例,年龄20～40岁,ASA Ⅰ或Ⅱ级.以0.5 ml/s的速率静脉输注1%异丙酚2 mg/kg,当异丙酚给药量达1/3时暂停给药,采用口语等级量表评分法(VRS)评价异丙酚注射痛,VRS评分≥1分为发生注射痛,之后再给予剩余量异丙酚完成麻醉诱导.术后20 min时采用VAS评分法评价患者静卧以及下床站立时的疼痛程度,静卧时VAS评分≥30分为发生术后疼痛.计算异丙酚注射痛预测术后疼痛程度的灵敏度和特异度.结果 异丙酚注射痛发生率为66%,VRS评分与术后静卧以及活动时VAS评分呈正相关(r=0.561,P<0.01;r=0.608,P<0.01).异丙酚注射痛预测术后疼痛的灵敏度为96%,特异度为52%.结论 术前异丙酚注射痛是预测人工流产术后患者疼痛程度的可靠指标.     

Postoperative pain relief using thoracic epidural analgesia: outstanding success and disappointing failures

Six hundred and forty patients received epidural analgesia for postoperative pain relief following major surgery in the 6-year period 1993-1998. Although satisfactory pain relief was achieved in over two-thirds of patients for a median duration of 44 h after surgery, one-fifth of patients (133 individuals) still experienced poor pain relief. Almost one out of three patients (194 individuals) had a problem with their epidural. Eighty-three patients (13%) suffered a technical failure and 84 (13%) patients had their epidurals removed at night time when pain-free because of pressure on beds. Seven patients had their epidural replaced and subsequently experienced excellent pain relief for a median of 77 h. Lack of resources prevented a further 480 patients from receiving the potential benefits of epidural analgesia. These results would suggest that the practical problems of delivering an epidural service far outweigh any differences in drug regimens or modes of delivery of epidural solutions.     

An audit of pain and vomiting in paediatric day case surgery

Three hundred and thirteen paediatric day case patients were prospectively audited to assess postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting using data sheets completed by nursing staff, anaesthetists and parents. The incidence of nausea and vomiting was 7.3% and was commoner in older children and those who had received opioids. Forty per cent of patients had some degree of postoperative pain; 17% of these patients were scored as having severe pain. Of children who had pain on returning home (31.4%), 85% of these required paracetamol. Fifteen per cent of children had a disturbed night due to pain and/or vomiting after their operation and 28.5% of children had pain on the following day. Boys undergoing circumcision were responsible for a disproportionately high percentage of the severe pain scores. Audit has helped to highlight deficiencies in the service provided and has led staff to try and improve their methods of analgesia.     

Incident reporting in acute pain management

Incident reporting is an effective tool for continuous quality improvement in clinical practice. A prospective study on voluntary incident reporting in pain management was conducted at a major teaching hospital in Hong Kong. Over a 12-month period, 53 incidents were reported in 1275 patients who received pain relief treatments which were supervised by the acute pain service. The majority of the incidents were first detected by the pain team. The most common incidents involved delivery circuits, delivery pump and drug administration. A large proportion (81.4%) of the incidents were thought to be preventable. Human factors were involved in 41.9% of the patients reported, most commonly associated with unfamiliar technique/inexperience, inattention and inadequate communication. Four patients developed major morbidity of which two were attributed to inadequate analgesia, while three others had major physiological changes without morbidity. Strategies have been formulated to prevent further occurrence of these incidents. We propose that incident reporting is a potentially useful tool in identifying and preventing adverse events in postoperative pain management.     

A survey of the practice of thoracic epidural analgesia in the United Kingdom

A postal survey of the practice of thoracic epidural analgesia was sent to 275 hospitals in the United Kingdom. Responses were received from 70% of hospitals. Informed consent is rarely adequately obtained, with only 28% of respondents mentioning even the most common complications. Epidural cannulation is most often (60%) performed following induction of general anaesthesia, rather than in the awake patient. A test dose of local anaesthetic without adrenaline is usual. Neither aspirin nor low-dose heparin are considered a contraindication. The majority of respondents used a combination of bupivacaine with fentanyl (51%) or diamorphine (40%), usually administered by continuous infusion. Drugs were frequently prepared and adjusted by anaesthetic staff. The majority of epidurals (63%) are nursed in intensive care units postoperatively. Properly funded pain management teams, at present unusual, would facilitate ward-based epidural management and release intensive care resource. A central register of epidural complications is required to provide valuable evidence for the optimum practice of thoracic epidural analgesia.