Establishing a nurse-based, anesthesiologist-supervised inpatient acute pain service: experience of 4,617 patients

To describe our nurse-based Acute Pain Services (APS) and present the results of 4617 patients treated by our service.

Descriptive audit.

Large referral hospital.

4617 patients treated by the APS.

Analgesic regimens [basic pain treatment, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), epidural analgesia, spinal analgesia, and wound instillation], as well as the associated patient monitoring and event-response algorithms are detailed. The mean visual analog score (VAS) for pain was low. A VAS for pain greater than 30 mm was noted in 15.3% of all pain scores recorded. Bradypnea (respiratory rate < 10 breaths/min) was recorded in 19 patients (overall incidence = 0.4%). No complications resulting in sustained morbidity or mortality occurred. Of the patients, 96% described their overall satisfaction with the APS as either good or excellent.

A nurse-based APS provides effective and safe postoperative pain management.