This study compared pain relief, the occurrence of side-effects, the regular and supplementary consumption of analgesics, and the costs to treat pain in patients submitted to postoperative analgesia. 400 records were analyzed concerning patients who were submitted to five methods of postoperative analgesia through intravenous and epidural routes, whether or not utilizing infusion pump for Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA). Statistically significant differences between the methods were observed as to pain intensity and occurrence of side-effects. However, possibly such differences had low clinical expression. Significant differences were observed as to the cost of the methods, which might be an important factor on choosing an analgesic method.
postoperative pain; pain treatment; patient-controlled analgesia; analgesia cost
