Perioperative Analgesia Management for a Chinese Patient with Multiple Traumatic Injuries: A Case Report

Trauma is a leading global health burden, contributing to substantial morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Polytrauma patients frequently endure severe acute pain, which disrupts physiological recovery, delays rehabilitation, and diminishes quality of life. Effective perioperative analgesia is critical for optimizing outcomes, with anesthesiologists playing a central role in developing individualized, multimodal pain management strategies. This case report details the perioperative care of a patient with multiple injuries—including fractures, pulmonary contusion, hemothorax, and soft tissue trauma—following a motor vehicle accident. The analgesic regimen integrated intravenous opioids, regional nerve block, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to minimize opioid-related adverse effects, mitigate pulmonary complications, and enhance pain control. Multimodal analgesia has become the cornerstone of perioperative pain management in trauma care. During emergency debridement surgery, this approach facilitated hemodynamic stability and adequate analgesia. Following pulmonary recovery, the patient underwent definitive fracture fixation, with continuation of the multimodal strategy. Postoperatively, the patient experienced no opioid-related complications such as respiratory depression, nausea), reported high satisfaction, and achieved early mobilization. This case highlights the clinical benefits of structured, patient-centered analgesia in trauma care, including improved recovery trajectories, reduced healthcare costs, and enhanced safety. Anesthesiologists’ expertise in balancing analgesic efficacy with safety is indispensable in optimizing perioperative outcomes for polytrauma patients.