Brachial plexus postoperative analgesia at home

Advances in anesthetic and surgical techniques, along with escalating health care costs, have resulted in an ever-increasing number of surgical procedures being performed on a day-case basis worldwide. Since the proportion of surgery done on an outpatient basis is increasing, and since early discharge and patient satisfaction are important goals, pain management is receiving greater attention. 1 Rapid recovery after the use of new, short-acting anesthetic agents has led to the concept of fasttracking and by-passing the postanesthetic care unit (PACU). 2 However, the success of fast-tracking will depend to a considerable extent on effective postoperative pain management routines with simple methods. The potential cost saving of outpatients surgery may be negated by unanticipated hospital admission for poorly treated pain. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.