Postoperative Pain Management Practices in Orthopaedic Surgery at Federal Medical Centre, Owerri

Effective post-operative pain management is a cornerstone of quality orthopaedic care, influencing patient satisfaction, rehabilitation participation, and clinical recovery. In Nigerian hospitals, disparities in analgesic availability, prescribing practices, and pain assessment limit the quality of post-operative pain control. This retrospective audit evaluates post-operative pain management practices for orthopaedic surgical patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, South East Nigeria, over a twelve-month period. Case records of 150 patients who underwent elective or emergency orthopaedic procedures will be reviewed for pain assessment documentation, analgesic prescribing (type, dose, frequency, route), adherence to multimodal analgesia protocols, use of regional anaesthesia, and patient-reported pain scores within 24 and 48 hours post-operation. Descriptive analysis will characterise prescribing patterns, and regression analysis will identify factors associated with poor pain control. The study hypothesises that reliance on oral opioids without complementary NSAIDs and inadequate pain assessment documentation are common deficiencies. Findings will be submitted to the orthopaedic department and the anaesthesia unit to develop a standardised post-operative analgesia protocol. This research contributes to the quality improvement literature on pain management in orthopaedic surgery at a South East Nigerian federal medical centre. Keywords: post-operative pain, analgesia, orthopaedic surgery, pain management audit, Owerri.