Room for improvement: unmet needs in postoperative pain management

Abstract

Postoperative pain treatment is an important healthcare issue. However, the management of pain in patients after surgery remains insufficient. In the present review, several key areas important for postoperative pain management are discussed. New findings about efficacy and side effects of nonopioid analgesics, such as paracetamol, NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors, are presented and discussed in light of acute, short-term application in the perioperative period. Second, new findings about postoperative pain management in patients with preoperative pain and chronic opioid consumption are reported. Third, feasibility of the transversus abdominal plane block as a new and promising regional anesthesia technique is discussed. Finally, potential predictors, mechanisms and preventive treatment strategies of persistent chronic pain after surgery are presented.