Preoperative Activity Level and Postoperative Pain After Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery

Area of Science:

• Urogynecology
• Surgical Outcomes
• Pain Management

Background:

• Higher preoperative physical activity is linked to better surgical outcomes.
• The effect of preoperative activity on postoperative pain in urogynecologic surgery is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between preoperative activity level and postoperative pain and opioid consumption in women undergoing urogynecologic surgery.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving 132 women undergoing pelvic reconstructive surgery.
• Patients were categorized into high (Activity Assessment Survey [AAS] = 100) and low (AAS < 100) baseline activity (BA) groups.
• Primary outcome: postoperative pain scores; Secondary outcome: postoperative opioid use.

Main Results:

• The high BA group had lower preoperative pain scores (P ≤ 0.01).
• Initially, the high BA group reported lower postoperative pain (P = 0.02) and opioid use (P = 0.01).
• After adjusting for covariates, higher BA was not associated with reduced postoperative pain or opioid use.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative activity level in urogynecologic surgery patients was not associated with lower postoperative pain.
• Higher baseline activity did not correlate with decreased opioid requirements post-surgery.