Prevalence of acute postoperative pain and quality of recovery at a university–affiliated hospital in Medellín, Colombia, 2007

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of acute moderate or severe postoperative pain and the quality of recovery at a university–affiliated hospital.

Design: Prospective, observational, cross–sectional study at Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paúl in Medellín, Colombia.

Patients: 112 hospitalized patients, older than 18 years, in the postoperative period of orthopedic, thoracic or abdominal surgery.

Methods and results: The static and dynamic postoperative pains were evaluated by means of a Verbal Numeric Rate Pain scale. The Quality of Recovery was measured with an instrument to determine the well–being and mental and physical functionality of the patients during the postoperative period. The adverse effects associated with analgesia were also taken into account. The prevalence rates of moderate and severe static postoperative pain were, respectively, 31.3% and 22.3%. For moderate and severe dynamic postoperative pain, the prevalence rates were 27.6% and 48.2%, respectively. The Quality of Recovery was good in 80.4% of the patients. An increase in the intensity of postoperative pain was correlated with a decrease in the quality of recovery. Adverse effects of analgesia were as follows: somnolence (44.6%), nausea (25%) epigastralgia (17%), urinary retention (17%) and vomit (13.4%).

Conclusions: The prevalence rate of severe postoperative pain was high in this group of patients and it correlated with a decrease in the quality of recovery. Strategies to improve control of postoperative pain should be implemented in our milieu.