Acute Pain

Pain is acute when it is accompanies tissue injury or pathology. Pain following surgery, pain associated with athletic injury, and the occasional headache are all examples of acute pain. Medically, acute pain sometimes has a diagnostic value; that is, it leads to the discovery of a pathological condition.

Acute pain is a common experience. Bonica (1990) estimated that in 1986 a) patients concerned about a new pain made about 40 million visits to office-based physicians, b) 64.3 million traumatic injuries occurred to Americans in 1986, c) least 80% of which required pain relief, d) about 1.2 million suffered pain with myocardial infarction, and e) roughly 5 million suffered acute headache. About 29 million Americans had surgery that year. Of these, Bonica estimated from data that 30% had moderate unrelieved pain and 50% suffered severe or excruciating unrelieved pain.

Unrelieved acute pain following surgery can lead to complications or even death. Shallow breathing, "splinting" of chest muscles, and cough suppression can cause retention of pulmonary secretions and pneumonia. It delays the return of normal gastric and bowel function. For very frail patients, those undergoing high risk procedures and the very old or very young, pain represents a risk for morbidity and mortality. Sadly, more than half of all patients undergoing surgery today needlessly suffer post-operative pain due to undermedication and inadequate pain management practices (AHCPR, 1992).

Acute Pain Management, Clinical Practice Guideline, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 1992

Bonica, JJ The Management of Pain, (2nd Ed), Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1990.