Preoperative analgesia in emergency surgical care in Ibadan

Pain is the main complaint of patients presenting as surgical emergencies. However, preoperative analgesia has not been studied in developing countries. The adequacy of preoperative analgesia in 106 consecutive acute surgical cases admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department of The University College Hospital, Ibadan, was evaluated using the visual analogue scale and the verbal rating scale. In all, 58% of cases were trauma victims, and the male-to-female ratio was 2.5:1. Analgesia was not prescribed in 45.2% of the patients, 65% of whom were in severe pain. In addition, 81% who were given preoperative analgesia had 'moderate to severe' residual pain. The results showed that provision of preoperative analgesia is inadequate in emergency surgical cases in Ibadan.