INTEGRATION OF A SPECIALIZED NURSE IN THE ACUTE PAIN CONTROL SERVICE - REPORT OF EXPERIENCE GAINED

This paper reports on the experience gained with an Acute Pain Sendee at the University Hospital in Mainz. Within a period of 30 months, mor e than 2,000 patients were treated mainly with special pain management procedures such as PCA and epidural analgesia for an observation peri od of more than 3,700 patientday's in several surgical departments. Th e acceptance of this Acute Pain Service is good. Up until the time of writing, no serious complications have been observed. The activities o f a qualified specialist nurse within the pain management team are des cribed.