Effect of Multimodal Analgesia on Postoperative Recovery and Length of Hospital Stay in Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery

Background: To improve recovery and minimize complications, the management of postoperative pain is a critical issue in abdominal surgery. Multimodal analgesia has been advanced as being a better alternative to the traditional opioid-based regimens.

Aim: To determine the impact of multimodal analgesia on the postoperative recovery and hospitalization among patients who underwent abdominal surgery.

Methods: A comparative study was a prospective study carried out in one year at the Medical Research Teaching Hospital. Two groups of adult patients (70 in multimodal analgesia and 70 in conventional opioid-based analgesia) were selected to carry out the elective abdominal surgery. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to measure postoperative pain at 6, 12 and 24 hours. Other outcomes were opioid use, mobilization time, hospital stay and postoperative complications. The SPSS version 28 was used to analyze the data, and the value of statistical significance was determined as p < 0.05.

Findings: Multimodal group demonstrated a significant low score of pain at every time point than the conventional group (p < 0.001). Opioid consumption was significantly reduced (12.4 ± 5.1 mg vs 24.7 ± 8.3 mg, p < 0.001), and earlier mobilization was achieved (10.5 ± 3.2 vs 16.8 ± 4.5 hours, p < 0.001). The duration of hospital stay was much less in the multimodal group (3.4 ± 1.2 vs 5.2 ± 1.8 days, p < 0.001). Also, the rate of nausea and vomiting was much lower (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Multimodal analgesia is an effective strategy to enhance postoperative outcome through the enhancement of pain management, decrease in opioid consumption, faster ambulation, and hospitalization. It should be implemented routine as it is expected to improve patient outcomes during abdominal surgery.