Postoperative pain control.

Abstract

Prevention and control of postoperative pain are essential. Inadequate treatment of postoperative pain continues to be a major problem after many surgeries and leads to worse outcomes, including chronic postsurgical pain. Optimal management of postoperative pain requires an understanding of the pathophysiology of pain, methods available to reduce pain, invasiveness of the procedure, and patient factors associated with increased pain, such as anxiety, depression, catastrophizing, and neuroticism. Use of a procedure-specific, multimodal perioperative pain management provides a rational basis for enhanced postoperative pain control, optimization of analgesia, decrease in adverse effects, and improved patient satisfaction.