Abstract
Background
Pain is a subjective and multidimensional experience often inadequately managed following
surgery. Postoperative pain has been shown to correlate with hospital length of stay
(HLOS) and hospital complications. Given advancements in preemptive pain management
approaches, reevaluation is necessary.
Aims
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between postoperative pain
intensity and HLOS and in-hospital complications among patients who underwent colorectal
surgery, adjusted by sociodemographic and underlying medical variables.
Setting and Patients
We used electronic medical records. Data were collected from patients who underwent
colorectal surgery at a large general hospital in Israel from January 2012 to December
2018.
Design and Methods
This is a retrospective cohort study. Information on HLOS, medical diagnoses, pain
intensity, use of analgesics, postoperative infections, patient sociodemographic data,
chronic diseases, functionality status, and source of admission were extracted from
medical records. Logistic regression analysis was used for the final model, and HLOS
and in-hospital complications were the major outcomes.
Results
We enrolled 1,073 patients. Of them, 554 males (51.6%) with a mean age of 62.54 ±
16.55 years. The median postoperative pain score was 1.54 (interquartile range, 0.84;
2.16), and an in-hospital complication rate of 1.3% (n = 14). Postoperative pain was
not associated with prolonged HLOS with adjustment to relevant independent variables (odds
ratio, 1.399; 95% confidence interval, 0.759-2.578; p = .282). Contrarily, age, malignancy, assistance needed in activities of daily living,
use of analgesic agents, and postoperative infection were risk factors for prolonged
HLOS. Additionally, postoperative pain was not related to a higher risk of in-hospital
complications.
Conclusions
Pain intensity post colorectal surgery was not a risk factor for extended HLOS or
in-hospital complications. In contradistinction, tending to patient needs, adequate
analgesic use, and reducing infection rates can shorten HLOS, improve health outcomes,
and economize health care resources.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 06, 2022
Accepted:
January 2,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 19,
2021
Received:
July 29,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
