Pain control after surgery reduces days of hospitalization

University of Pittsburgh study finds effective analgesia cuts length-of-stay by nearly a day
ORLANDO, Fla., March 26 -- Effective postoperative pain control using continuous peripheral nerve block reduced average length-of-stay by nearly a day, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physicians reported today during the 81st Clinical and Scientific Congress of the International Anesthesia Research Society at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Fla.
Being able to decrease the time that patients spend in the hospital helps to reduce the patient’s exposure to the risk of hospital-acquired infection and associated complications, and also has an overall economic benefit, Jacques E. Chelly, M.D., Ph.D., professor and vice chairman of the department of anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and his colleagues found.
"For many people, the prospect of having pain is more stressful than the surgery itself," said Dr. Chelly, who is presenting these study results at the meeting. "If they know that specialists in acute pain medicine can help to minimize the pain associated with surgery, these patients are less stressed and more willing to have the surgery they need."