Evaluation of postoperative discomfort after strabismus surgery under general anesthesia in children: a prospective observational study

Abstract

Introduction: Strabismus surgery is most commonly performed on children under general anesthesia. However, few studies have focused on the postoperative discomfort in children after strabismus surgery. Methods: A single-center prospective observational study including 300 children who underwent strabismus surgery after general anesthesia was conducted. Patients’ characteristics, preoperative anxiety, surgical and anesthesia data, discomfort within 24 hours after postanesthesia care unit were recorded. Results: Approximately 61.33% of the children complained of at least one of the following types of discomfort. Multivariate analysis indicated that history of PONV (P=0.999), history of motion sickness (P<0.001, odds ratio [OR]=3.72), and surgery in the dominant eye (P=0.010, OR=2.00) were independent predictors of postoperative discomfort; age was an independent predictor of EA (P<0.001, OR=0.33); prism diopter≥40 was an independent predictor of headache (P=0.005, OR=5.53); age (P=0.020, OR=1.12) and history of motion sickness (P=0.001, OR=2.80) were independent predictors of dizziness; history of PONV (P=0.999), history of motion sickness (P=0.001, OR=2.63), and surgery of inferior oblique anterior transposition (IOAT) (P=0.004, OR=3.10) were independent predictors of PONV. Conclusion: Younger age, larger angle of strabismus, history of motion sickness, history of PONV, surgery on the dominant eye, and IOAT may be risk factors for postoperative discomfort.