Pain scores during surgical drains removal after obstetrics and gynaecological surgery

Removing surgical drains can be painful. Currently, there is no evidence to predict which patients may experience greater pain than others. This prospective study is the first to determine the predisposing factors to higher pain scores during drains removal. Multivariate analysis determined if operation type, drain type, duration of drainage, speed of drain removal or pain perceived just before drain removal 'background pain' could be used to predict pain during drain removal. A total of 80 consecutive women were included. There was a positive correlation between pain scores during drain removal and background pain scores (p = 0.0007). Pain scores during drain removal were not related to operation type (p = 0.6), drain type (p = 0.9), duration of drainage (p = 0.4), analgesia type (p = 0.4), duration since last analgesics (p = 0.35) or speed of drain removal (p = 0.5). Because of the positive correlation between 'background' pain and pain during drain removal, techniques to reduce pain during drain removal should target women with significant pre-existing discomfort.