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Incidence, patient satisfaction, and perceptions of post-surgical pain: results from a US national survey.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gan, TJ; Habib, AS; Miller, TE; White, W; Apfelbaum, JL
Published in: Curr Med Res Opin
January 2014

OBJECTIVE: During the past two decades, professional associations, accrediting bodies, and payors have made post-surgical pain treatment a high priority. In light of the disappointing findings in previous surveys, a survey was conducted to assess patient perceptions and characterize patient experiences/levels of satisfaction with post-surgical pain management. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Survey included a random sample of US adults who had undergone surgery within 5 years from the survey date. Participants were asked about their concerns before surgery, severity of perioperative pain, pain treatments, perceptions about post-surgical pain and pain medications, and satisfaction with treatments they received. RESULTS: Of the 300 participants, ∼86% experienced pain after surgery; of these, 75% had moderate/extreme pain during the immediate post-surgical period, with 74% still experiencing these levels of pain after discharge. Post-surgical pain was the most prominent pre-surgical patient concern, and nearly half reported they had high/very high anxiety levels about pain before surgery. Approximately 88% received analgesic medications to manage pain; of these, 80% experienced adverse effects and 39% reported moderate/severe pain even after receiving their first dose. STUDY LIMITATIONS: Key study limitations include the relatively small population size, potential for recall bias associated with the 14-month average time delay from surgery date to survey date, and the inability to account for influences of type of surgery and intraoperative anesthetic/analgesic use on survey results. CONCLUSIONS: Despite heightened awareness and clinical advancements in pain management, there has been little improvement in post-surgical analgesia as measured by this survey of post-surgical patients.

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Published In

Curr Med Res Opin

DOI

EISSN

1473-4877

Publication Date

January 2014

Volume

30

Issue

1

Start / End Page

149 / 160

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Surgical Procedures, Operative
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Pain, Postoperative
  • Pain Measurement
  • Pain Management
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
 

Citation

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Gan, T. J., Habib, A. S., Miller, T. E., White, W., & Apfelbaum, J. L. (2014). Incidence, patient satisfaction, and perceptions of post-surgical pain: results from a US national survey. Curr Med Res Opin, 30(1), 149–160. https://doi.org/10.1185/03007995.2013.860019
Gan, Tong J., Ashraf S. Habib, Timothy E. Miller, William White, and Jeffrey L. Apfelbaum. “Incidence, patient satisfaction, and perceptions of post-surgical pain: results from a US national survey.Curr Med Res Opin 30, no. 1 (January 2014): 149–60. https://doi.org/10.1185/03007995.2013.860019.
Gan TJ, Habib AS, Miller TE, White W, Apfelbaum JL. Incidence, patient satisfaction, and perceptions of post-surgical pain: results from a US national survey. Curr Med Res Opin. 2014 Jan;30(1):149–60.
Gan, Tong J., et al. “Incidence, patient satisfaction, and perceptions of post-surgical pain: results from a US national survey.Curr Med Res Opin, vol. 30, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 149–60. Pubmed, doi:10.1185/03007995.2013.860019.
Gan TJ, Habib AS, Miller TE, White W, Apfelbaum JL. Incidence, patient satisfaction, and perceptions of post-surgical pain: results from a US national survey. Curr Med Res Opin. 2014 Jan;30(1):149–160.

Published In

Curr Med Res Opin

DOI

EISSN

1473-4877

Publication Date

January 2014

Volume

30

Issue

1

Start / End Page

149 / 160

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Surgical Procedures, Operative
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Pain, Postoperative
  • Pain Measurement
  • Pain Management
  • Middle Aged
  • Male