The postoperative pain experience: a description based on the McGill Pain Questionnaire

In surgical nursing practice, postoperative pain is of particular concern because of its documented effect on recovery and behaviors associated with recovery. Yet, little is known about the nature of this pain, other than its intensity. In this study, a description of the nature of the postoperative pain experience was generated from analysis of patient responses to the McGill Pain Questionnaire in four nursing intervention studies. The combined sample included 246 adult cholecystectomy patients. Patient descriptions of pain on the third postoperative day suggest a circumscribed sensory experience of moderate intensity. Sensory descriptors selected reflect two levels of noxious stimulation, one at the deeper somatic level (e.g., throbbing, stabbing, cramping, pulling, and burning) and one at a more superficial level (e.g., pricking, sharp, pinching, itching, sore, and tender). Descriptors of deeper pain tended to reflect greater intensity. The overall experience was characterized by 16 descriptors, selected by more than 30% of the sample and reflecting sensory, affective, and evaluative dimensions of the pain experience. Comparison of the findings from this combined sample drawn from hospitals in the northeastern United States were remarkably similar to those reported by Taenzer in Canada. The descriptors selected support, extend, and validate the kind of "sensation information" needed in preoperative instruction used in nursing practice and for abdominal surgery and can be useful in the assessment and management of postoperative pain.