Abstract
In 1996, the Okayama University Hospital Department of Anesthesiology named the in-hospital acute pain service POPS (Postoperative Pain Service) and created a manual for its protocol, enabling our physicians to provide good pain control in the early postoperative period. In recent years, ERAS (Enhanced Recovery after Surgery) has gained much attention, with emphasis on adequate pain management to allow for early ambulation and early return to oral intake. The main challenges for postoperative pain management are titrating the dose of patient controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) and intravenous patient controlled analgesia (IVPCA) begun in the operating room, determining the timing of its termination and switch to oral analgesics, and treating its side effects such as nausea and vomiting. At Okayama University Hospital, a perioperative management center (PERIO) was established in 2008 with a multidisciplinary medical team for managing surgical patients from the moment of the decision to operate in the outpatient setting in order to provide a comfortable, reassuring, and safe surgical experience. We are searching for a solution to the issues surrounding perioperative management of the surgical patient by integrating the POPS protocol and the PERIO service at Okayama University.
