Clinical attitudes towards pain treatment post-orthopedic surgery: a multicenter study in Beijing

Pain is a common post-operative complication. Incidence of pain directly affects patients' quality of life in terms of patient physiology, psychology, and social characteristics. This study was to understand clinical attitudes with regards to Beijing surgeons, and patients' attitude towards pain treatment after orthopedic surgery.

A hospital-based cross-sectional and cluster sample survey of 40 hospitals in Beijing was conducted, including 20 level III (tier three) and 20 level II (tier two) general hospitals. Enrolled subjects completed a specifically designed interview-questionnaire.

The prevalence of pain 2 weeks post-orthopedic surgery was high in Beijing (96.1%). Meanwhile, collected data indicated most subjects in Beijing suffered moderate to severe pain, 45.1% and 41.4%, respectively, post-surgery. And for the concern of patients before surgery, most subjects chose full recovery from surgery (78.6%), as well as, the pain after operation was 39.2% ranked the third. According to the data from the study, Tramadol use was more common in Level III hospitals, where Somiton was preferred in Level II hospitals. When it came to the education of pain before and after operation, more patients get educated before operation than after it. In our study, case physicians or attending physicians enacted education before and after surgery. Related to the sense of patients, among the surgeons preferring post-operative analgesia, 67.6% considered administration when receiving complaints of moderate level pain, 50.0% indicated they will terminate analgesic treatment once pain degree scale wise decreases to benign pain.

The majority of orthopedic patients experience post-operative pain. Identification of post-operative pain will facilitate future awareness on pain treatment and nursing care in Beijing hospitals, with pain relief through regulated improvements in strategic pain management.