Receipt of Pain Management Information Preoperatively Is Associated With Improved Functional Gain After Elective Total Joint Arthroplasty

Abstract

Forty-four percent of the patients reported that they did not receive/received unhelpful information regarding postoperative pain management, highlighting a need for improved patient education. In this sample, the lack of pain management information was associated with poorer 6-month postoperative function.

Patient satisfaction with pain relief following major abdominal surgery is influenced by good communication, pain relief and empathic caring: a qualitative interview study

“…This is supported by literature revealing the effects of information on pain, education and patient preparation for PCA. 27,[34][35][36][37] In our study participants said that they got detailed information from fellow patients about how to reduce pain and how to use the PCA. This is consistent with a thematic synthesis of qualitative studies carried out by Dwarsward et al 38 to evaluate the self-management support from the perspective of patients with chronic conditions.…”

CORR Insights®: Does Orthopaedic Outpatient Care Reduce Emergency Department Utilization After Total Joint Arthroplasty?

“…Still, studies continue to show that a lack of patient education and expectation management can increase the risk of unplanned returns to the hospital [3,4,7]. This is particularly true for questions about postoperative pain control, medications, and mobilization-the most-common reasons for ED visits, according to both the current study [1] and previously research [3,4].…”

“…This is particularly true for questions about postoperative pain control, medications, and mobilization-the most-common reasons for ED visits, according to both the current study [1] and previously research [3,4]. It makes sense that patients will have questions and anxiety after surgery, and managing expectations and the overall experience are critically important [5,7,11]. We need to continue to find ways to communicate and educate our patients after surgery-whether by routine followup visits or alternative means such as through smartphone applications-so that patients do not go back to the hospital seeking answers to questions we can easily provide other ways.…”

To block or not to block?

“…Patient counselling and expectation management has been shown to improve pain relief and patient satisfaction [1]. Patients with high severity of preoperative pain are more likely to report chronic pain after both total hip and knee replacement and this association is five times stronger in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) compared to total hip arthroplasty (THA) [2].…”