Pain on medical wards in a district general hospital

Abstract

Patients in all hospital specialities experience pain. Until the issue of pain management in medical patients is fully addressed the situation will not improve.

A comparative study of oral tapentadol with thoracic epidural analgesia versus intravenous tramadol and paracetamol combination for postoperative analgesia in off pump CABG

“…[11][12][13][14][15][16] Surveys conducted among patients who had undergone ambulatory surgery indicated that 30% 15 to 40% 12 of patients experience moderate to severe pain following discharge.…”

Clinical review of intravenous opioids in acute care

“…However, given the increasing number of options available to clinicians, along with concerns about drug interactions and adverse effects of these complex drugs [1], the task of treating pain with intravenous opioids in the acute care setting can be challenging. Moreover, issues of patient dissatisfaction with pain management and iatrogenic overdose are major problems in hospitals today [2,3].…”

“…Pain is an incredibly common complaint on inpatient medical wards. This is perhaps not surprising, given that pain intensity tends to be underestimated by care providers [3]. In fact, a 2004 survey amongst patients in the acute care setting demonstrated that up to 43% of patients experienced inadequately treated pain, while 12% complained of unbearable pain during hospitalization [3].…”

“…This is perhaps not surprising, given that pain intensity tends to be underestimated by care providers [3]. In fact, a 2004 survey amongst patients in the acute care setting demonstrated that up to 43% of patients experienced inadequately treated pain, while 12% complained of unbearable pain during hospitalization [3]. Furthermore, over 20% of elderly care and general medical patients reported pain scores ≥ 6 on visual analog scale (VAS) assessment despite provider-guided pain management [3].…”

“…In fact, a 2004 survey amongst patients in the acute care setting demonstrated that up to 43% of patients experienced inadequately treated pain, while 12% complained of unbearable pain during hospitalization [3]. Furthermore, over 20% of elderly care and general medical patients reported pain scores ≥ 6 on visual analog scale (VAS) assessment despite provider-guided pain management [3]. In the surgical setting, up to 86% of postoperative patients reported significant periods of undertreated pain of moderate severity [7].…”