Introduction. Postoperative pain results from the surgical damage to the tissue. There are several methods of assessing such pain, e.g. the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Verbal Rating Scale (VRS), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Faces Pain Scale (FPS), Prince Henry Pain Scale (PHPS), or the Scale of Clinical Quality Indicators in Postoperative Pain Management. Anaesthesia is a reversible reduction in pain sensation with the use of pharmacological and physical means. General anaesthesia is a pharmacological, controlled and fully reversible induction of the state of unconsciousness and amnesia anterogarda, elimination of pain sensation and reduction of muscular tone or complete muscle relaxation. Aim. The aim of the research was to assess the impact of various factors on pain sensation in patients after hemicolectomy in the first 24 hours after the procedure. Material and methods. In the research, the Scale of Clinical Quality Indicators in Postoperative Pain Management, the Patient Satisfaction with the Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire and a proprietary questionnaire for collecting social and demographic data were used. The research covered 80 patients after hemicolectomy at the Surgical Ward of the Bielsko-Biała City Hospital and Oncology Centre, 24 hours after the procedure. Results. A smaller degree of pain sensation was determined after left hemicolectomy. The strongest pain in the postoperative period applied to extended right hemicolectomy patients. It was found out that there was no relationship between the method of surgery or type of anaesthesia and the pain present in the first 24 hours after the procedure. The best effectiveness of anaesthetic treatment was observed in patients with general intratracheal anaesthesia in connection with epidural anaesthesia. Intratracheal anaesthesia along with the Tap Block method was the most convenient with regard to the low quantity of analgesics administered after the surgical procedure. The general assessment of nursing care quality with regard to pain alleviation was average according to the researched group of patients. Conclusions. 1. The general assessment of the quality of nursing care with regard to postoperative pain management was average in the opinion of the patients, which reflects the need for its monitoring and continuous improvement. 2. The level of postoperative pain sensation was affected by the medical history of a patient and the category of qualification for the procedure in the ASA scale. 3. The smallest quantity of analgesics after hemicolectomy was administered to the patients with intratracheal anaesthesia relating to the Tap Block method. 4. The patients with general intratracheal anaesthesia in connection with epidural anaesthesia assessed the effectiveness of pain treatment as the highest.

Key words: anaesthesia, pain, hemicolectomy.