Prevalence and factors associated with severe pain in the postoperative period of orthopedic surgery.
Juliany Correia de Almeida, Thais Veselich Kamide, Carla Roberta Monteiro Miura
PMID 42307365WHAT IT FOUND
Severe pain affected 63.5% of 63 postoperative orthopedic patients, with the highest incidence on the first and second postoperative day.
Mobilization was associated with severe pain, while regular physical activity was associated with fewer severe pain reports.
Key findings
01Severe pain was reported by 63.5% of patients, with the highest incidence between the first and second postoperative day and a mean VNS score of 8.7.
02Mobilization showed a statistically significant association with severe pain (p=0.002), and regular physical activity was associated with 70% lower odds of severe pain (OR=0.3; 95%CI=0.1 to 0.8; p=0.03).
03No demographic, lifestyle, or clinical variables related to the surgical procedure showed a statistically significant association with severe pain.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was single-center and included 63 patients, with no sample size calculation, so the findings may not generalize. It was cross-sectional and observational, so it cannot show that mobilization caused severe pain or that physical activity prevented it. Patients with cognitive impairment or conditions that prevented assessment were excluded, so the results do not apply to those patients. Some data may have been missing from electronic records, including systematic pain assessment records. There was no record of non-pharmacological strategies, so the pain care context is incomplete.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that mobilization causes severe pain or that physical activity prevents it. This was an observational study of 63 patients that found associations, not a trial of treatment.