Postoperative pain management

Abstract

Pain consist of an unpleasant sensory experience, associated with actual or potencial tissue damage, it is subjective, and its manifestations depend on multiple factors regarding the patient’s reality. The correct management of an acute painful condition prevents it from lasting over time, becoming chronic pain, which is a process that generates important repercussions on the patient’s quality of life since it affects their ability to perform daily tasks, bringing not only emotional, but in some cases, also economic consequences. Postoperative pain continues being a persistent problem in health services, despite having a better understanding of the pathophysiology of pain and a greater variety of therapeutic resources. Technological advances allow to offer patients different analgesic techniques which are less invasive, generating better results and fewer adverse effects or associated complications. Health personnel must be able to identify the risk factors that predispose the patient to difficult pain management, since the correct management of analgesia is a core responsibility of health personnel, and its approach must start from the first contact with the patient, be individualized and multidisciplinary.