[Perioperative pain therapy in trauma patients].

Analgesia is one of the physician's genuine challenges. Pain makes the patient suffering and leads to unfavourable somatic effects as well, which may have negative outcome effects. Sufficient perioperative analgesia depends on well defined organizational conditions. General responsibility, indication, choice and dosage of drugs should be defined in advance to enable a prompt and sufficient reaction in normal cases. Systemic analgesia is simply to perform and the cornerstone of perioperative analgesia. Non-opioid analgesics are indicated in minor and limited pain. If necessary, opioids are added. Opioids are very powerful analgesics and-in principle-sufficient to meet all clinical challenges. Special syringe pumps allow a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) under fixed conditions. Regional anaesthesia via catheter is powerful as well and avoids systemic opioid side effects. In these cases as well, a continuous or patient controlled analgesia is possible.