title: The Current State of Perioperative Pain Management: Challenges and Potential Opportunities for Nurses.
abstract: Achievement of adequate postoperative pain management is a critical challenge in health care, with an estimated three out of four adult surgical patients reporting moderate to extreme pain after surgery. Overreliance on opioids in acute care settings has persisted, despite well-known adverse side effects frequently associated with this class of drugs. Furthermore, patients with a history of chronic opioid use present additional challenges in terms of postsurgical pain management. Advances in the development of newer analgesic agents and anesthetic techniques may be useful in surgical patients with a history of chronic opioid use and in the overall surgical patient population. Systemic inefficiencies and problematic medical practice patterns can also have negative effects on perioperative pain management. As the surgical patient's primary advocate, perioperative nurses play an important role in overcoming these diverse challenges and addressing the problems associated with inadequately controlled postsurgical pain.
authors.forename: Melanie H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bruckenthal
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D013527:Perioperative Nursing
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
keywords: acute pain/surgery; anesthesiology; opioid analgesics adverse effects; perioperative nursing; postoperative pain