Introduction

The concept of a formal acute pain service was first suggested by an anonymous editorial in the journal anesthesia and intensive care in 1976. In 1995 practice guidelines for the treatment of acute pain were first offered by the American Society of Anesthesiologist Task Force. The APS team is typically called when a patient's pain is refractory to standard therapy and they need escalation in treatment or they're also involved as part of an ERAS protocol because having the APS team on board has been associated with many benefits such as shorter hospital stays.