Nonenteral Pain Management

Abstract

Otolaryngologic surgeries present challenges to ensuring postoperative pain control owing to their location and nature that may require patients to be NPO for long periods of time, making enteral medication administration difficult or impossible. There are several alternative administration routes to bypass the gastrointestinal tract, including intravenous, transdermal, subcutaneous, and rectal. Options exist for opioid administration in the perioperative setting, including intravenous boluses, patient controlled analgesia, and transdermal patches. Acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and ketamine exist in nonenteral formulations. When applied in a multimodal strategy, nonenteral medications can provide appropriate analgesia, reduce opioid consumption, and increase patient satisfaction.

Keywords: Adjuncts; Analgesia; Nonenteral; Otolaryngology; Pain.