Please confirm that an ethics committee approval has been applied for or granted: Not relevant

Background and Aims This study aimed to standardize postoperative pain management in major outpatient surgery by developing evidence-based protocols, as recommended by the PROSPECT guidelines. The study compared the effectiveness of these protocols with the traditional liberal management of postoperative pain prescribed by surgeons for patients undergoing inguinal hernia surgery at MAS.

Methods A sample of 60 ASA I and ASA II patients undergoing inguinal hernia surgery at MAS was collected. Thirty patients followed a protocol-based home analgesic regimen of Paracetamol 1 g alternated with Tramadol 75 mg and Dexketoprofen 25 mg every 8 hours for 3 days. The other thirty patients received a surgeon-prescribed regimen of Paracetamol 1 g alternated with Ibuprofen 600 mg every 8 hours, with Tramadol 50 mg as rescue analgesia for 5 days. Pain levels were assessed using the VAS scale at 24 and 48 hours, and adverse effects were recorded.

Results The protocol group had a mean VAS score of 2.3 points at 24 hours, compared to 4.1 points in the conventional treatment group. At 48 hours, the protocol group scored 1.2 points, while the control group scored 2 points. The Student’s t-test indicated a significant reduction in postoperative pain for the protocol group at both 24 and 48 hours (p<0.05).

Conclusions Analgesic guidelines based on the developed protocol offer a significantly more effective alternative for managing postoperative pain than the liberal analgesia prescribed by surgeons in patients undergoing inguinal hernia surgery at MAS.