The Clinical Use of Intravenous Acetaminophen Postoperatively on Patients Who Have Undergone Bowel Surgery

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine the effect of using IV acetaminophen postoperatively for 48 hours or until a return to a general diet in adult patients who have undergone bowel surgery at a Midwestern hospital. The sample included 50 adults who underwent bowel surgery and a comparison group of 50 adult patients of the same surgeons who received usual care before the intervention period. Outcome measures included the number of narcotic requests after surgery and the number of hours from the end surgical time to (1) first bowel movement, (2) return to a general diet, (3) first hallway ambulation, and (4) discharge. The data analysis revealed a significant improvement in the time to ambulation (acetaminophen group, 14.46 hours versus 30.51 hours; P = .036). The results of this project inform current postoperative care management at the Midwestern hospital in which the project was conducted.