Pain Predictors in Patients in the Postanesthesia Care Unit

• Published in: Journal of perianesthesia nursing 2024-08, Vol.39 (4), p.652-658
• Main Authors: Periañez, Carlos Alberto Henao, Castillo-Diaz, Marcio Alexander, Barbosa, Maria Helena, De Mattia, Ana Lúcia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Analgesics, Opioid - administration & dosage; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Brazil - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; pain; Pain Management - methods; Pain Management - statistics & numerical data; Pain Measurement - methods; Pain Measurement - statistics & numerical data; Pain, Postoperative - epidemiology; perioperative nursing; postanesthesia care unit; Postanesthesia Nursing - methods; postoperative complications; Prospective Studies; Recovery Room - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 1089-9472; 1532-8473; 1532-8473
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jopan.2023.11.010

To analyze the effects of pain-predicting factors on patients in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). This is an observational and prospective study. This study was conducted at a University Hospital in the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil). To collect data on demographic, clinical, and surgical factors, a collection instrument was devised. The verbal numerical scale was employed to measure pain levels before and after surgery in the PACU. A path analysis was used to assess a predictive model. A total of 226 patients were included in this study. The incidence of pain in the PACU was 31.9%. A model with demographic, clinical, and surgical variables was tested. The final model, after including modification indices, obtained results that indicated an acceptable data fit (comparative fit index = 0.996; root mean square error of approximation = 0.08). Age (being young), sex (being a woman), oncological diagnosis as an indication for the surgical procedure, type of surgery (surgery of the digestive system), duration of surgery (longer surgeries), and high intraoperative doses of opioids were predictive variables for pain in the PACU. This study's findings provide support for pain management in the PACU. Furthermore, the results of this research can be used to anticipate the occurrence of acute postoperative pain and personalized perioperative analgesia needs.