Innovations in Postoperative Pain Management: Continuous Infusion of Local Anesthetics

ABSTRACT
• PATIENTS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS alike struggle with alleviating postoperative pain. Patients with unrelieved pain are less likely to cough, breathe deeply, or move easily after surgery, which adversely affects their recovery.
• INNOVATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY, such as continuous infusion of local anesthetics, have revolutionized postoperative pain management. Technological improvements in needles, catheter insertion techniques, and effortless drug delivery systems are facilitating prolonged analgesia with few adverse effects, increasing patient satisfaction, and expediting postoperative recovery. AORN J 85 (May 2007) 904-914. © AORN, Inc, 2007.