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EP108 Post-operative analgesia after cesarean section

rapm · 2025-09-10 · canonical JSON source

7 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background and Aims Effective postoperative analgesia following cesarean section is essential to promote early maternal mobilization, successful breastfeeding, and maternal satisfaction. The local CUMH protocol aligns with national and international recommendations (AAGBI, OAA, ESRA), emphasizing the use of multimodal analgesia, neuraxial opioids, and timely rescue analgesia. This audit was conducted to evaluate current clinical practices and identify areas for improvement. Aim To assess the current practice of postoperative analgesia following elective and emergency cesarean sections and to highlight areas requiring improvement.Methods Population Women undergoing elective or emergency cesarean section. Sample: Consecutive patients identified from electronic record over a two-week period (1st–14th February). Data Sources: PACU records, anesthetic notes, and prescription charts. Design: Retrospective audit. Data Collection Tool: Excel-based audit proforma capturing anesthesia technique, use of intrathecal opioid, TAP block (if applicable), prescription of regular analgesics (paracetamol, NSAIDs), prescription of PRN oxycodone, and administration of rescue analgesia.Results A total of 100 patients were included. Intrathecal opioids were administered in 93 patients (93%), while 7 patients received a TAP block due to contraindications for neuraxial opioids. Regular paracetamol and NSAIDs were prescribed in 97 patients (97%), demonstrating strong adherence to multimodal analgesia guidelines. PRN oxycodone was prescribed in 90 patients (90%), with some variability in documentation. Of the 15 patients who recorded a postoperative pain score greater than 4, 13 received appropriate rescue analgesia within 30 minutes (87%). Regarding opioid consumption, the total opioid dose administered (converted to oral morphine equivalents) averaged 15 mg in the first 24 hours postoperatively, 25 mg over 48 hours, and 35 mg within 72 hours.Conclusions Overall, the audit showed good compliance with recommended analgesic protocols while highlighting areas for improvement in standardizing PRN opioid prescribing, timely administration of rescue analgesia.