Women need not suffer after gynaecologic and obstetric surgery

On 17 November 2014, the 2nd international symposium of the PAIN OUT project (Improvement in postoperative PAIN OUTcome) will take place in Brussels. The project, which was funded within the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme, aims at improving management of postoperative pain. Coordination of this international research project with 17 partners from 9 different countries was carried out by researchers from Jena University Hospital.

This year’s thematic priorities will be expert discussion on pain management after gynaecologic surgery and caesarean section. Caesarean Delivery is one of the most painful surgical procedures. Pain therapist Winfried Meissner, coordinator of PAIN OUT and head of the Pain Management Unit at Jena University Hospital, points out: “Pain as well as its management affects not only millions of women but also their babies.” Hysterectomy is another frequent procedure which is associated with severe pain and negative effects on function.

World-leading pain specialist, gynaecologists and obstetricians will discuss results of the PAIN OUT data in this field, state-of-the-art treatment approaches, and consequences of insufficient pain management. A study describing a successful improvement strategy employed in the clinical routine will described. Other topics will highlight gender differences in pain experience, and a comparison of quality of pain management between the US and Europe.

Half of the women report severe pain after Cesarean delivery on the first day after surgery. In surgery as a whole, around 30 – 50 % of patients suffer from moderate to severe pain postoperatively. As approximately 15 million surgical procedures are carried out per year in Germany – and around 250 million across the world – the significance of postoperative pain is enormous, causes needless suffering, and drains societal resources. Acute pain after surgery can lead to postoperative complications, prolong the length of stay in hospital, and may result in pain becoming chronic.

About PAIN OUT http://pain-out.med.uni-jena.de

Main objective of PAIN OUT is to improve quality of postoperative pain management worldwide. The registry is fed with data on surgery, management and – above all – on the quality of pain treatment as well as on side effects assessed by the patients themselves (so called patient-reported outcomes). So far, the patient's perspective has rarely been taken into account in medical registries. The data provides clinicians and hospitals with feedback and benchmarking about the care provided in their own institution, over time, and in comparison with other hospitals. The data is also used to assess the efficiency of different therapeutic approaches in the clinical routine to answer scientific questions and allowing for healthcare research.

PAIN OUT is successfully continued after the end of EU funding. Together with its German counterpart QUIPS, more than 350,000 patient data have been collected. More than 200 sites in over 30 countries participate in both projects. This makes the project's database the largest international registry on postoperative pain.

The symposium is held in cooperation with the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Medicine (DGAI), and the German Pain Society.

PAIN OUT and QUIPS are coordinated by the Pain Management Unit at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Jena University Hospital, directed by Prof. Winfried Meissner who also leads the Pain Management Unit. In addition to its scientific activities, the Pain Management Unit provides patient treatment, teaching of and education and training courses in pain medicine.

Registration for the PAIN OUT Symposium is still possible: http://pain-out.med.uni-jena.de/registration

For further information:

Claudia Weinmann
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine
Jena University Hospital
+49 3641 9 32 31 58
e-mail: claudia.weinmann[at]med.uni-jena.de

In case you are interested in interviewing experts and speakers, please contact us.

Weitere Informationen:

http://pain-out.med.uni-jena.de/sites/painout/files/Flyer_PAINOUTSymposiumBrusse