We are delighted to announce that Dr Joe Tyrrell, Consultant in Anaesthetics at Yeovil Hospital, has won third place for best e-poster at the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy’s international conference, held this year in Switzerland.

The e-poster details research undertaken by a team of Yeovil Hospital staff led by Dr Tyrrell, into the use of Tapentadol (a pain-reliving drug) in a group of post-operative patients.

“As part of an ongoing quality improvement initiative designed to optimise outcomes for patients undergoing total knee replacement”, says Dr Tyrrell, “we assessed the effectiveness of Tapentadol in this context. Of particular interest are the apparent reduction in length of stay (despite worse pre-admission mobility), and fewer adverse effects.”

The cross-departmental research team spent nearly a year gathering data and researching before Yeovil Hospital’s drugs and therapeutics committee approved the new use of the drug.

The team includes Clinical Nurse Specialist in Acute Pain, Hayley Kirtland (pictured), and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr Ben Lankester, as well as Sister Kirsten Abery and nursing staff on Ward 6A, and the Muscoskeletal Rehabilitation team.

The European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy’s international conference has been taking place annually since 1980 and is attended by over 2,000 professionals from across the globe.

About the win, Dr Tyrrell said, “It was a bit of a surprise! I wasn’t really expecting to win anything but we have a great team here and it’s credit to them that the research presented was so well received.

Tapentadol is now in use at Yeovil Hospital for patients who have had some types of knee surgery as part of new and more efficient pain-relief plan, with fewer side effects. We’re excited about the benefits this will have for patients; including improving their mobility and helping them get home sooner.”

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