This textbook is written as a comprehensive overview of acute pain management. It is designed to guide clinicians through an impressive array of different options available to them and to patients. In the last decade there has been a flurry of interest in the extent to which acute pain can become chronic pain, and how we might reduce the incidence of such chronicity. This overview covers a wide range of treatments for pain management, including the anatomy of pain pathways, the pathophysiology of severe pain, pain assessment, therapeutic guidelines, analgesic options, organization of pain services, and the role of anesthesiologists, surgeons, pharmacists, and nurses in providing optimal care. It also discusses the use of patient-controlled analgesia and how this may or may not be effective and useful.
