Acute Pain Service

The Acute Pain Service (APS) at the University of Colorado provides a comprehensive approach to treating patients suffering from postoperative, post-traumatic and various other forms of acute pain. Working collaboratively with our surgical and medical colleagues, we effectively utilize regional anesthesia techniques and multimodal pain medication management to provide evidence-based treatment options for our patients.  

Regional anesthesia techniques performed by APS include ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blockade via single shot and catheters, thoracic and lumbar epidural analgesia, and intrathecal opioid administration. Our inpatient consultant pain service emphasizes the management of epidural and peripheral nerve catheters, multimodal pain regimens with an emphasis on opioid sparing, as well as a focus on interdisciplinary communication. 

The APS team comprises residents and fellows in training, advanced practice providers with expertise in acute pain management, and attending anesthesiologists who are either fellowship trained or who have extensive experience in regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine. A clinical pharmacist also accompanies the team during rounds, providing a multidisciplinary approach centered around patient safety and evidence-based medicine.

University of Colorado residents rotate on the Acute Pain Service several times throughout their residency. During their CA-1 year, residents gain experience on both the APS pain medicine and regional anesthesia teams, which provides a solid foundation to build upon when they return to the APS regional anesthesia team as CA-3 residents. Information about advanced training in regional anesthesia and acute pain management can be found on our  fellowship page.