The Relationship of Age and Postoperative Pain in Women after Surgery for Breast Cancer.
Christina Kudach, Colleen Dunwoody, Susan Wesmiller
PMID 29503215WHAT IT FOUND
After breast cancer surgery, women 70+ reported higher pain and received more opioids than younger groups.
They also had less postoperative nausea and vomiting. Anxiety scores were similar across age groups.
Key findings
01Women aged 70+ reported higher postoperative pain (5.09±2.77) and received more pain medication than any other group (9.47±7.87 morphine equivalents).
02Anxiety did not differ significantly by age group, with an overall mean score of 10.1±5.2.
03Postoperative nausea and vomiting was reported by 35% overall; by age group, it was 27% for 37 to 49, 36% for 50 to 59, 30% for 60 to 69, and 18% for 70+.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 97 women were studied, and only 11 were aged 70 or older, so the older group findings are unstable. Data came from one post-anesthesia care unit at one hospital, so the results may not apply elsewhere. The presence of a study nurse observer may have influenced pain medication administration. The paper reports higher pain in the 70+ group without saying whether that difference was statistically significant. The authors note that older women may have misunderstood the 0 to 10 pain scale.
Declared interests
The authors report no financial disclosures. The article metadata lists NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that older women always need more opioids after breast cancer surgery. The 70+ group had only 11 women, the study was cross-sectional, and the paper reports higher pain in the 70+ group without saying whether that difference was statistically significant.