Factors contributing to poor post-operative abdominal pain management in adult patients: a review.

Post-operative abdominal pain management can be a major issue facing medical and nursing staff in daily clinical practice. Effective pain control reduces post-operative morbidity as well as facilitates rehabilitation and accelerates recovery from surgery. In turn, poor pain control has been shown to alter body metabolic response that can lead to delayed recovery, with subsequent prolonged hospital stay and increased morbidity, and can lead to the development of a chronic pain state.