title: Effective analgesic modalities for ambulatory patients.
abstract: The introduction of government-mandated standards for pain management has focused our attention on postoperative pain. With the recent JACHO standards' for ambulatory surgery, it is imperative that all health care workers who care for these patients are familiar with appropriate pain management. Developments in our understanding of the pathophysiology of acute pain have further enhanced our ability to improve pain management for postoperative ambulatory patients. This has led to the concept of preventive analgesia (inhibition of physiological and pathological secondary inflammatory pain). Extensive work has shown that this is best achieved using a multimodel approach usually consisting of an NSAID, opioid, and local anesthetic. NMDA antagonists (ketamine, dextromethorphan) and alpha-2 agnoists (clonodine) show potential supplements to further enhance pain management, especially if given preemptively. Nonpharmacological intervention such as cold therapy or acupuncture may also be considered. The armanentarium for effective pain management has improved substantially over the past few years. The challenge is for health care workers to implement these therapies to obtain optimum pain management in ambulatory surgical patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, SUNY Stony Brook Health Sciences Center, L4-060 Stony Brook, NY 11794-8480, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Redmond
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Florence
authors.forename: Peter S A
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Glass
mesh_terms: D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D000698:Analgesia; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases