Abstract
Background: Postoperative pain management is critical in cardiac and thoracic surgery. Traditional opioid therapy (TOG) can result in higher pain scores and complications, while multimodal analgesia (MAG) may improve outcomes.
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of MAG versus TOG in reducing postoperative pain and complications.
Methods: A cross-sectional study included 96 patients (48 cardiac, 48 thoracic) at Mayo Hospital Lahore. Patients received either MAG or TOG after surgery. Pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and postoperative complications were recorded. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were applied to analyze associations between analgesia type and outcomes.
Results: In cardiac patients, 2 MAG patients and 10 TOG patients reported VAS ≥4. In thoracic patients, 2 MAG and 12 TOG patients reported VAS ≥4. Postoperative complications were lower in MAG groups. Chi-square analysis showed a significant association between analgesia type and pain scores (p<0.05), while age and gender were not significant.
Conclusion: Multimodal analgesia provides better postoperative pain control and fewer complications compared with traditional opioid therapy in cardiac and thoracic surgery patients.