A survey of postoperative pain experience at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital: Patients’ perspective

Abstract

Background : An understanding of the postoperative pain experience from a patient's perspective is important for healthcare professionals to identify ways of improving care. The purpose of this study was to characterize postoperative pain experience, assess patient satisfaction and perceptions on postoperative pain and pain medications at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

Methods : A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using questionnaires which contained 2 parts: part I, demographic data and information of pain management; and, part II, the patient’s experience of postoperative pain management, satisfaction and perceptions on postoperative pain and pain medications.

Results : Two hundred and eighty patients [males = 223 (79.6%), and females = Conclusion 57 (20.4%)] were enrolled in this study. 90.7% of the patients reported a lack of information related to postoperative pain management, and 93.6% preferred to learn more about postoperative pain. Assessment at 24 hours postoperatively revealed that most patients experienced mild to moderate pain at rest (65.7% and 17.5% respectively) and when on movement (27.1% and 52.9% respectively) but the pain did not have much effect on their general activities. They graded the frequency and intensity of moderately severe and severe pain to be more frequent than expected. However, most of them received immediate pain treatment (<10 min) when requested with effective pain relief. Almost all of them did not hesitate to ask for rescue analgesics or were afraid of addiction. Adverse effects of pain medications (pruritus, difficulty in walking or leg numbness, drowsiness, nausea/vomiting, difficulty เท thinking or urinating, and constipation) were low (0.4 - 5.0%). Most patients (98.5%) were satisfied with their postoperative care. 89.6% of the patients accepted to receive the same treatment, if they would have to undergo the same surgery again. The patients who were dissatisfied with the pain control requested to have a healthcare professional to educate them before receiving their surgery which should concern how their pain would be treated and how they could get a better pain control.

 Conclusion : Most patients experienced mild to moderate pain during 24 hours Keywords postoperatively and reported satisfaction with the care. However, their feedbacks revealed the need of more education related to postoperative pain management.