Date of this Version

11-29-2023

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

Background: Pain is a common complication when undergoing breast surgery. Acute pain leads to several issues, including chronic pain, pneumonia, cardiac ischemia, increased opioid use, opioid addiction, and increased mortality. These issues lead to an increase in hospital stays and hospital costs. Currently, opioids are the most common analgesic for postoperative breast surgery pain. However, medications such as ibuprofen have shown evidence of reducing postoperative breast surgery pain and opioid consumption. This project aimed to increase anesthesia provider knowledge by developing and disseminating an educational module regarding the benefits of ibuprofen on postoperative breast surgery pain. Methodology: Following Institutional Review Board (IRB) and anesthesia group approval, an educational module on the benefits of preoperative intravenous ibuprofen for postoperative breast surgery pain was disseminated to 45 random CRNA participants via Qualtrics. All participants received a pretest that assessed the anesthesia providers’ baseline knowledge of the topic. Pre- and posttests were disseminated via Qualtrics. The pre- and posttest results were then compared using an Excel spreadsheet to analyze the effectiveness of the educational module. Results: A literature review provided evidence that ibuprofen reduces opioid usage and opioid side effects when compared to gabapentin. The safety profile of ibuprofen is superior when compared with gabapentin. This was exemplified with multiple procedures, but very little research was found involving breast surgery. . Discussion: Data from the pre- and posttest surveys show an overall increase in knowledge regarding the benefits of ibuprofen and postoperative breast surgery pain. However, the overall attitude towards using single-dose ibuprofen for breast surgery pain was unchanged. The limitations of this project were the sample size, the time allowed for project participation, and the online delivery of educational modules. Conclusion: The educational module achieved its goal of improving the knowledge of providers. However, the attitudes towards ibuprofen and breast surgery pain were unchanged. This signifies the need for more research involving single-use intravenous ibuprofen and postoperative breast surgery pain.

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