Early Postoperative Pain Intensity after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Associated Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence of pain with severity ≥ 50 VAS points within 24 hours of LC and explore various factors that influence the early postoperative pain intensity after LC.Method: 148 eligible adult patients (≥ 18 years) of ASA physical status I and II undergoing elective uncomplicated LC for symptomatic cholelithiasis during the year 2018 were recruited for the study.Results: Postoperatively, pain was the most frequent postoperative symptom and 49 (33.1%) of patients experienced severe postoperative pain during first 24 hours after surgery and opioids were consumed by 20.3% of patients to relieve pain. Mulltivariate regression analysis revealed that preoperative anxiety (aOR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.53-3.97) and sensitivity to cold pressor induced pain (aOR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.12-2.08) were the significant predictors for the intense early postoperative pain. Conclusion:Intense pain is experienced by one third of patients in the early postoperative period after LC which can be effectively managed by properly addressing the preoperative risk factors as revealed in our study.