Patient-controlled oral analgesia at acute abdominal pain: A before-and-after intervention study of pain management during hospital stay

To investigate the patient experience of pain management, when patient-controlled oral analgesia was compared with standard care for patients admitted to hospital with acute abdominal pain. The primary outcome measures were pain intensity and patient perception of care. Pain management of patients admitted to hospital with acute abdominal pain can be insufficient. Patient involvement in health care has been seen to have benefits for patients. A before-and-after intervention study was conducted in an emergency department observation unit and a surgical department. Data were collected from a questionnaire (APS-POQ-R-D) with the six subscales: pain severity, perception of care, interference with activity, interference with emotions, side effects and patient-related barriers. A total of 156 patients were included. During admission the median score (0–10 scale) for the pain intensity and patient perception of care subscale was 4 (p = 0.96) and 8 (p = 0.92), respectively, in both the control and intervention group. On the activity subscale, the median scores were 6 and 5 (p = 0.17); on the emotion subscale, the scores were 5 and 4 (p = 0.31); and on the side effect subscale, the scores were 3 and 4 (p = 0.18) in the control and intervention group, respectively. Overall, the score was 5–8 at one item about being allowed to participate in decisions about pain treatment as much as wanted. Patient-controlled oral analgesia did not improve patient experience of pain management for patients admitted to hospital with acute abdominal pain. •Patient-controlled oral analgesia did not improve the patient experience of pain intensity and perception of care.•The patients did not participate in pain management strategies as much as they wanted.•When using the patient-controlled oral analgesia strategy, patients need a thorough guidance by the nurses.