Pain, Acute and Postoperative

Acute pain is a complex physiological reaction to tissue injury and inflammation. Acute postoperative pain is considered a mandated part of the comprehensive surgical postoperative experience. Developments in the understanding of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of pain has focused greater attention on a multimodal approach to the management of acute pain in an effort to improve quality of life and functionality and enhance activities of daily living. The concept of multimodal analgesia is described as capturing the effectiveness of individual agents in optimal dosages that optimizes analgesia and minimizes side effects. This article will review acute pain with special emphasis on the management of postoperative pain and multimodal analgesia.