• M C van den Nieuwenhuyzen, R A Janss, R Brand, and J W van Kleef.
• Afd. Anesthesiologie, Academisch Ziekenhuis, Leiden.
• Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 1994 Apr 30;138(18):902-6.

ObjectiveTo determine how postoperative analgesia care is managed in the Netherlands.DesignDescriptive study (questionnaire).SettingDepartments of anaesthesiology in all 168 Dutch hospitals.MethodQuestionnaires were sent inquiring about postoperative pain therapies and their complications, the organisation and management of postoperative analgesic care, the importance of effective pain control, factors of influence on patient's assessment of pain and the management of the quality of postoperative analgesia.ResultsThe questionnaires of 73% (n = 122) of the hospitals were suitable for analysis. Locoregional analgesic techniques are used, but intermittent intramuscular administration of an opioid is still the analgesic therapy of choice in the postoperative period. 89% of the interviewed anaesthesiologists assess the average intensity of postoperative pain as moderate or severe, and more than half of the interviewed anaesthesiologists answered that effective postoperative pain management is of substantial influence on the postoperative recovery of the patient.ConclusionIt is essential to improve postoperative pain control in the Netherlands. Frequent assessments and precise documentation of the intensity of pain and pain relief, on which further therapy can be based, might be a first step in improving postoperative pain control. Optimal postoperative pain management requires the input of equipment and staff.

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