Patient satisfaction from postoperative pain relief in Ali-Ebne-Abitaleb hospital in Rafsanjan – 2012

  Background and objectives: Acute postoperative pain is a complex physiological response to tissue injury, visceral distension or disease and as one of the most common problems in the postoperative period could reduce the quality of the surgery and patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to assess patients' satisfaction of postoperative pain relief and as an indicator of quality of health systems services, will be effective in their evaluations and future plans.   Materials and methods: In this descriptive-cross sectional study, 323 patients who referred to Ali-Ebne-Abitaleb hospital for surgery under general anesthesia were studied. The sampling method was carried out through census and the questionnaire consisted of three parts (demographic, patients' ideas about their post-operative pain and satisfaction from soothing the pain). Patients were studied 24 hours after surgery through Ache Rating System (ARS) and Numerical Rating System (NRS). For data analysis, SPSS software and descriptive statistic tests were employed.   Results : The cases studied were 165 (51.1%) males and 158 (49.9%) females. According to the results, 56.1% of patients were completely satisfied with their pain soothing after the surgery. Postoperative pain was severe, very severe and unbearable in 40.2% of patients. Significant difference was found among the patients' sex (p=0.000), type of surgery (p=0.003), administration of analgesic (p=0.004) and pain intensity.   Conclusion: More precision and care teams should focus on evaluating the severity of postoperative pain, especially in patients who have had major surgery and women to enhance patient satisfaction.   Key words: Patient satisfaction, Postoperative, Pain soothing