Papers of the Week

The issue of perioperative analgesia is a significant challenge for health care providers. Uncontrolled postoperative pain can lead to complications. The formation of ‘Acute Pain Service’ teams, a worldwide method of organization, has been shown to increase the effectiveness of postoperative analgesia. The aim of our summary is to describe the concept, organizational structure, quality criteria and models of implementation abroad in the field of acute pain management based on publications. After searching several databases, we systematically reviewed the literature using PICO technique and evaluated 263 abstracts. The service is operated in many countries around the world, basically in three operational structures. The staff consists of an anesthesiologist and nursing staff specializing in pain therapy. 5 quality criteria have been established to describe the functioning of the teams, but the service has an important role to play in educating patients and staff and developing pain therapy protocols. We recommend that a survey be conducted in Hungary on the operation of services and the enforcement of quality criteria in the field of postoperative pain relief care. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161 (15): 575-581.