The relationship between postoperative pain and the amount of intramuscular Demerol received by patients having had elective inpatient surgery

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to quantify the level of postoperative pain experienced by patients who had elective inpatient surgery and correlate the level of postoperative pain they experienced during the first 48 hours postoperatively with the percent of the maximum dose of administered intramuscular narcotic. An additional purpose was to evaluate any discrepancy between the amount of prescribed narcotic and the amount of administered narcotic. The McGill Pain Assessment Tool tn conjunction with a visual analog scale were used to measure the subject's level of pain. 8 Patients perceived moderate levels of pain postoperatively with a mean visual analog scale score of 48.6. Patients received between 4% and 36% of the maximum amount of narcotic analgesic prescribed during the first 48 hours postoperatively. A positive relationship, although not significant (r=.260 1 ), was identified between perceived pain and the percent of maxtmum dose of administered narcotic.