ITalian Observational Study of the management of mild-to-moderate Post-Operative Pain (ITOSPOP)

BACKGROUND: The multicenter observational ITalian Observational Study on the management of mild-to-moderate PostOperative Pain (ITOSPOP) was carried out in 24 hospitals to describe current postoperative pain management in Italy and the intensity of pain experienced by patients during the first 48 hours after surgery. METHODS: Adult patients, after surgery expected to result in mild-moderate postoperative pain, underwent six evaluations. The primary endpoint was the level of organization and standardization of postoperative pain management. Secondary objectives included the intensity of postoperative pain, and an assessment of incident pain, postoperative analgesic and concomitant treatment administration. RESULTS: Only 16.7% hospitals had an acute pain service and 41.7% hospitals applied a standardized protocol for postoperative pain management. The majority (>60%) of the 1952 patients monitored underwent all six assessments, >70% of which were performed by a physician. The proportion of patients with moderate pain decreased during the study period, but almost 10% of patients still experienced moderate pain at study end. Mild pain was reported by 50% of the patients for the entire study duration. At the final assessment, 5% of patients still presented with incident pain frequently interfering with daily activities. Most patients were treated with analgesics, but 20% of patients did not receive any pain medications despite experiencing pain. CONCLUSION: The level of organization and standardization of postoperative pain management in Italian hospitals remains low. Postoperative analgesic treatment remained suboptimal and almost two-thirds of patients continued to experience pain.