Uso de analgesia durante el proceso de diagnóstico del dolor abdominal agudo y/o abdomen agudo por los cirujanos generales de la zona de planificación 6, Cuenca-Ecuador, 2014

Abstract

Introduction Knowledge of avoiding the use of analgesia during the diagnostic process in acute abdominal pain are rooted in older publications, however current evidence says it is safe and appropriate to control pain and may even improve the diagnostic accuracy.

Objective To identify the use and characteristics of analgesia during the diagnostic process of acute abdominal pain by surgeons of the area 6.

Methodology A quantitative descriptive study was conducted, having as universe all physicians who worked as General Surgeons in the area 6. We used a validated questionnaire, adapted from previously published works. Data collection was performed between March and April 2014 through an online survey using Google Drive© software. For tabulation and analysis of data, IBM-SPSS 18 software was used. Frequency distribution, percentages and measures of central tendency were used to examine the association of the independent and dependent variables. Chi Square and Fisher Exact Test were used to assess the level of statistical significance.

Results A return of 73,68 % was obtained. 54,8 % of the surgeons use analgesia and 73,8 % have read current evidence related to the topic. The most commonly used analgesics are NSAIDs and opioids with 39,1 % each. The most important finding of our study is the statistically significant relationship found between those surgeons who read current evidence on the use of analgesia in acute abdominal pain and the decision to use it (p = 0.043).

Conclusions The results showed us that although most surgeons use analgesia and know the current scientific evidence, they don’t use opioids as their first option.