LAUSR

Effective management of acute post surgical pain is one of the cornerstones of successful perioperative care. The principal objectives of post surgical pain management include relief of patient suffering, facilitation of functional recovery and attenuation of the physiologic stress response to pain and associated complications. More recently, the health-care community identified the importance of attenuating the transition from acute postsurgical pain to persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP) and recognizing the role played by the medical profession in the opioid crisis [1]. In prior publications, the standard of postoperative care has been discussed in detail [2,3]. In present day, this includes the implementation of multimodal analgesia (including novel regional anesthesia techniques and long-acting local anesthetics), interdisciplinary care among physicians, nurses, and allied health staff, as well as managing unique patient, surgical and pharmacotherapy interactions. In particular, it has long since been recognized that adequately treating acute pain is integral to minimizing the transition to persistent or chronic pain. Over the past 5 years, a few key concepts in the management of acute postoperative pain have moved to the forefront. This includes patient-centered and procedure-specific education, nonpharmacological pain management strategies, utilization of a functional-based recovery assessment, ensuring an adequate transition from hospital to home pain management and exploring the role of a transitional pain service (TPS).