Postoperative Movement-evoked Pain Trajectories in Abdominal Surgery Patients: A Retrospective Study

This study aimed to characterize the early postoperative movement-evoked pain (MEP) trajectories in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery and to explore factors that may influence MEP trajectories.

A single-center, retrospective analysis.

This retrospective study was conducted on 268 patients who underwent major abdominal surgery at a university hospital in China. Data were extracted from the hospital's electronic medical records and the DoCare Anesthesia Clinical Information System. MEP trajectories were assessed at four time points: in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), and on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3. Longitudinal latent profile analysis was employed to classify patients into different groups based on similar pain trajectory characteristics over time. Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze potential factors associated with different pain trajectory profiles.

Three latent classes of MEP trajectories were identified and classified into no pain, mild pain, and moderate-to-severe pain trajectories. Factors significantly associated with MEP trajectory membership included opioid consumption during operation, opioid consumption during PACU, and patient-controlled analgesia consumption.

Perioperative and perianesthesia health care providers, especially nurses, should strategically optimize opioid use during surgery and proactively manage pain in the early recovery period. Perioperative and perianesthesia nurses play a critical role in postoperative pain management, specifically in guiding pain assessment and treatment interventions, analgesic dosing, and information transfer during care transitions.