Vol. 2, Issue 6, Part O (2016)

Abstract
Background and Objectives: Patients who have both ENT and general surgery are highly concerned about pain after the surgery. If pain is not well controlled, it can slow down recovery, make problems more likely, and make patients less happy. For the best results, it's important to use effective multimodal analgesic techniques. This study sought to assess postoperative pain treatment in individuals following concurrent ENT and general operations, analysing analgesic efficacy, safety, and recovery trajectories. Materials and Methods: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was performed on 70 adult patients aged 18-65 years, categorized as American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-II, and scheduled for elective combined ENT and general surgical operations. Patients were randomly divided into two groups (n = 35 each): Group A got a multimodal analgesic regimen comprising intravenous opioids and NSAIDs, whereas Group B received standard opioid-based analgesia. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to measure pain after surgery at 1, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours. Results: Age, sex, weight, and length of operation were all similar across the two groups. After the operation, Group A had better pain control with significantly lower VAS values (1, 4, 8, and 12 hours postoperatively; p<0.01) in comparison to Group B. Group B had a shorter time to provide initial rescue analgesia (3.5±0.9 h) compared to Group A (6.8±1.2 h), with a p-value less than 0.001. Group A's total opioid consumption after surgery was 25±8 mg, which was substantially lower than Group B's total consumption of 48±12 mg (p<0.001). The group that received multimodal analgesia reported higher levels of patient satisfaction. Although there were no statistically significant differences in sedation or other adverse effects, Group A had a reduced incidence of nausea and vomiting (11.4%) compared to Group B (28.6%, p = 0.04). Conclusion: In patients having both ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and general surgery, multimodal analgesia improves postoperative pain control, decreases opioid use, lengthens the time until first rescue analgesia is needed, and increases patient satisfaction. If you want a speedier recovery after surgery, you should think about this safe and effective method.