Abstract
Patients want safe and effective analgesia. Our goal is to prevent postoperative pain in an efficient and cost effective manner. For most patients, the pain can be managed using simple, non-invasive and inexpensive analgesic techniques. Given the current economic climate, cost will become increasingly important. There will be financial pressure to expand the scope of ambulatory surgery. There will be pressure to discharge patients as soon as they are able to take oral medications. Outpatient analgesia is the oldest and most widespread form of patient-controlled analgesia — We already have the knowledge and the analgesics necessary to prevent postoperative pain. What we need now is logical, rational, and universal application of this information.
Résumé
Le patient s’attend à une analgésie efficace et sans danger. Nous devons viser à prévenir efficacement et au meilleur coût la douleur postopératoire. La plupart du temps, la douleur peut être contrôlée par des techniques simples, non effractves et peu coûteuses. Dans le climat économique actuel, le coût deviendra un facteur de plus en plus important. La question financière nous forcera à élargir les limites de la chirurgie ambulatoire. Nous devrons aussi libérer les patients dès qu’ils sont aptes à prendre une médication orale. La chirurgie ambulatoire constitue la méthode la plus ancienne et la plus répandue d’analgésie auto-contrôlée. Nous avons déjà à notre disposition les analgésiques requis pour prévenir la douleur postopératoire. Il faut maintenant appliquer cette connaissance universellement, de façon logique et rationnelle.
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Moote, C.A. The prevention of postoperative pain. Can J Anaesth 41, 527–533 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03011550
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03011550