PATIENT PERCEPTION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PATIENT CONTROL ANALGESIA (PCA) IN POSTOPERATIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT AT SHAUKAT KHANUM MEMORIAL CANCER HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTRE (SKMCH&RC)
Keywords:
Patient-Controlled, Analgesia (PCA), Patient Perception, Postoperative Pain Management, Pain Relief, Patient Satisfaction, Analgesic Effectiveness, Postoperative Recovery.Abstract
Introduction: Wang et al (2020) emphasizes that management of pain is a big treatment concern for patients who have had surgery, and the anesthesiologists are always on the lookout for new ways to help them. Devin & McGirt (2015) highlights that the management of postoperative pain, on the other hand, is far from ideal. In patients who undergo major surgeries and are expected to experience severe postoperative pain are provided with multimodal analgesia including patient control analgesia. At SKMCH&RC, we deal mostly with cancer surgeries. Pain management is an important issue during intraoperative and postoperative period. Post- operative pain control depends on type & extent of surgery. In patients who undergo major surgeries are expected to experience severe postoperative pain are provided with multimodal analgesia including patient control analgesia (PCA).
Objective: To assess patient perception of the effectiveness of PCA for post-surgical pain management in abdominal surgeries (Gastrointestinal & Gynecological).
Methodology: This is a qualitative descriptive study. Setting: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre. Duration: The study has been conducted within 14 weeks after approval from Institutional Review Board (IRB). Sample Size and Sampling Techniques: Convenient sample of 50 adult patients (age 18 & above), received Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) after abdominal surgeries (Gastrointestinal & Gynecological) in the month of May - July 2022 has been included in this study. Data analysis and Statistical methods: Patient demographics and basic information was analyzed through descriptive statistics e.g. calculation of percentages and central tendency of the data. Patient perception was analyzed through the thematic analysis of responses provided by the patients. For Studies involving Surveys/Questionnaires: Patients were interviewed through open-ended questions about their perception (Please see attached Appendix 1).
Results: The overall results showed highest quality experience and perception of Effectiveness of Patient Control Analgesia, postoperatively in SKMCH & RC. Conclusion: Conclusion has shown that PCA is a very effective and safe method of pain relief and may allow easier individualization of therapy compared with conventional methods of opioid analgesia.
