Assessment of postoperative pain management in Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College

Abstract

Assessment of postoperative pain management in Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College Eyerusalem Hailemariam Addis Ababa University, 2015 Postoperative pain is very common in almost all surgeries. Its inadequate management will result in suffering, increased risk of morbidity and mortality, longer stay in hospital and higher cost. In most developed and developing countries, postoperative pain is not adequately managed. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence, management and risk factors of postoperative pain in St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College. A prospective cross sectional survey was conducted from April to June 2014 among post surgical patients (N=416). Data on the level of postoperative pain, its management, and socio demographic characteristic were collected using verbal rating scale, data abstraction tool and patient interview respectively. In addition, data on status of depression was collected using patient health questionnaire-9. A total of 416 patients that underwent surgery were assessed; out of whom 376 (90.4%) had pain of different degrees. Accordingly, mild pain 257 (61.8%), moderate pain 106 (25.5%), severe pain 13 (3.1%) were reported by the patients. The most frequently used medication to manage postoperative pain was diclofenac 157(37.7%). The presence of depressive symptoms and the use of non opioid analgesics were shown to have an association with the iv development postoperative pain. The prevalence of moderate to severe postoperative pain in this hospital was found to be 28.6%. Postoperative pain was insufficiently managed in this hospital. Therefore, assessing pain and contributing factors should be considered to come up with optimum management of postoperative pain in the surgical wards of this hospital. Key words: Postoperative pain, analgesics and St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College