Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.
The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.
Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Pediatric anesthesia" and "Society guideline links: Lower spine disorders" and "Society guideline links: Sickle cell disease and thalassemias".)
International
●World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES)-Global Alliance for Infection in Surgery (GAIS)-Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia Intensive Care (SIAARTI)-American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST): Guidelines for postoperative pain management in non-traumatic emergency general surgery (2022)
●An international multidisciplinary consensus statement on the prevention of opioid‐related harm in adult surgical patients (2021)
●Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and management of pain, agitation/sedation, delirium, immobility, and sleep disruption in adult patients in the ICU (2018)
Canada
●Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS): Position statement for the use of oral opioids to control children's pain in the post-codeine era (2021)
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't continue opioid analgesia beyond the immediate postoperative period or other episode of acute, severe pain (2020)
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't recommend the use of over-the-counter medications containing codeine for the management of acute or chronic pain. Counsel patients against their use and recommend safe alternatives (2020)
●CPS and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Joint position statement for the prevention and management of pain in the neonate – An update (2007, reaffirmed 2017)
United States
●World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES)-Global Alliance for Infection in Surgery (GAIS)-Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia Intensive Care (SIAARTI)-American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST): Guidelines for postoperative pain management in non-traumatic emergency general surgery (2022)
●American Physical Therapy Association (APTA): Clinical practice guidelines for interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain, revision (2021)
●Clinical practice guideline – Opioid prescribing for analgesia after common otolaryngology operations (2021)
●American College of Physicians (ACP) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP): Guideline on non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of acute pain from non-low back, musculoskeletal injuries in adults (2020)
●American Society for Enhanced Recovery (ASER) and Perioperative Quality Initiative (POQI): Joint consensus statement on perioperative opioid minimization in opioid-naïve patients (2019)
●Choosing Wisely: Don't prescribe opioids for acute or chronic low back pain before a thorough evaluation, consideration of a trial of alternative medications and treatments, and discussion of the risks of opioid therapy (2019)
●American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA): Consensus guidelines on the use of intravenous ketamine infusions for acute pain management (2018)
●Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM): Consensus statement on improving the safety of opioid use for acute noncancer pain in hospitalized adults (2018)
●American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners (AAENP), Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), and Society of Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants (SEMPA): Policy statement on optimizing the treatment of acute pain in the emergency department (2017)
●American College of Physicians (ACP): A clinical practice guideline on noninvasive treatments for acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain (2017)
●Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Joint position statement for the prevention and management of pain in the neonate – An update (2007, reaffirmed 2017)
●American Pain Society (APS), ASRA, and ASA: Guidelines on the management of postoperative pain (2016)
●Choosing Wisely: Don't prescribe opiates in acute disabling low back pain before evaluation and a trial of other alternatives is considered (2015)
●American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM): Practice guidelines on opioids for treatment of acute, subacute, chronic, and postoperative pain (2014)
●Choosing Wisely: Don't prescribe bed rest for acute localized back pain without completing an evaluation (2014)
●Choosing Wisely: Don't prescribe opioids for treatment of chronic or acute pain for workers who perform safety-sensitive jobs such as operating motor vehicles, forklifts, cranes or other heavy equipment (2014)
●Wilderness Medical Society (WMS): Practice guidelines for the treatment of acute pain in remote environments, update (2014)
●Choosing Wisely: Don't perform major abdominal surgery or thoracic surgery without a pathway or standard protocol for postoperative pain control and pneumonia prevention (2013)
●ASA: Practice guidelines for acute pain management in the perioperative setting – An updated report (2012)
Europe
●European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM): Guidelines for the management of acute pain in emergency situations (2020)
●European Society for Paediatric Anaesthesiology (ESPA): Guidance on postoperative pain management in children (2018)
United Kingdom
●Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) at the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS), British Pain Society (BPS), Royal College of Nursing (RCN), and Royal College of Psychiatry (RCP): Surgery and opioids – Evidence-based expert consensus guidelines on the perioperative use of opioids in the United Kingdom (2021)
●Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (APAGBI): Good practice in postoperative and procedural pain management, 2nd edition (2012)
Australia–New Zealand
●Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA): Position statement on acute pain management (2022)
●Choosing Wisely Australia: Do not prescribe opioids for the treatment of acute or chronic pain without assessing the patient's clinical condition, potential side effects, alternative analgesic options, work status, and capacity to perform safety-critical activities such as driving a motor vehicle (2017)
Japan
●[In Japanese] Japanese Society of Neonatal Nursing: Pain care guidelines for newborns hospitalized in NICU (2020)
