Assessment of Adequacy of Analgesics in Post-Operative Orthopedic In-patients using Visual Analogue Scale

Abstract

Introduction 
Adequate post-operative pain management in orthopedic patients is essential for optimizing recovery and reducing complications. This study aimed to evaluate the adequacy of analgesic use among post-operative orthopaedic inpatients using the visual analogue scale (VAS).
Methods
An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 post-operative orthopedic in-patients at Patan Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal. Analgesic administration patterns were analysed, and pain intensity was assessed at 6 hours and the next morning at 10 am post-operative using VAS score. SPSS 16 was used to evaluate analgesic adequacy and its association with age, gender, surgery type, and anatomical site.
Results
The majority of patients were male 134 (55.8%) with a mean age of 41.03 ± 16.60 years. The most frequently used analgesics were Pethidine 67 (27.92%) and ketorolac 64 (26.67%). The mean VAS score decreased from 6.43 at 6 hours post-operatively to 4.96 the next morning in major surgeries (p <0.001), and similar statistically significant reductions were observed in other surgical categories and anatomical sites, including spine and pelvis. VAS scores showed a significant reduction in pain across all sites and surgical types, particularly in spine and pelvic surgeries. Major surgeries had higher initial VAS scores, which improved significantly by the next day (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Analgesic use in this setting was effective in pain reduction observed among post-operative orthopedic in-patients. These results indicate that timely and appropriate analgesic administration effectively controls post-operative pain in orthopedic in-patients and highlight the importance of protocol-based pain management strategies tailored to surgical invasiveness.