Challenges of pain management after orthopedic surgery in drug-addicted patients from the patient's perspective

Pain management of surgical patients is an important part of postoperative care. This issue is associated with various challenges in drug-addicted patients. The aim of this study was to determine the challenges of pain management after orthopedic surgery in drug-addicted patients from the patient's point of view and to determine the relationship between the variables.

In this descriptive study that was conducted in Akhtar Hospital in Tehran in 2021, 105 patients participated with the available sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire which included the patient's demographic information and 16 statements about effective factors in pain management of drug-addicted patients. SPSS26 software, parametric independent t-tests, analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for data analysis and the significance level of the tests was considered less than 0.05.

From their point of view, "the low amount of painkillers" and "the ineffectiveness of painkillers" were the most important factors in their inadequate pain control, and other challenges in pain management were of little importance in optimal pain control of patients.

Pain in drug-addicted patients is not properly controlled after orthopedic surgery, and there are unrecognized challenges that require further investigation.