Abstract
Background: The problem of acute postoperative pain following cesarean delivery is a major clinical issue because it can hamper mobility, slow down recovery, and prevent a mother from providing care and bonding to her newborn. Although multimodal analgesic approaches are available, moderate-to-severe levels of pain are still experienced by many women during the first postoperative phase.
Purpose: To establish the variables related to moderate-to-severe acute postoperative pain during the initial 24 hours after cesarean operation.
Methods: The study was a descriptive observational study conducted at the University of Lahore teaching hospital. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used, and data were collected through a standardized questionnaire. The sample size of women who had a cesarean section was 87.
Results: Out of the 87 participants, 49.4% were aged between 26 and 35 years, 80.5% were ASA-II, 56.3% of them had a prior cesarean section, and 48.3% experienced preoperative anxiety. They were mostly multiparous (62.1%) with elective procedures (60.9%). Incision length of 10 cm or more was recorded in 55.2%, spinal anesthesia was used in 77% of the study subjects, and 57.5% had over 60 minutes of surgical time. Nerve blocks were administered postoperatively in 51.7%, and 55.2% received systemic analgesics.
Conclusion: The paper identifies the critical risk factors of the emergence of moderate-to-severe acute postoperative pain in the 24-hour period following cesarean delivery. Other factors that had the greatest influence included preoperative anxiety, increased BMI, longer operating time, prior cesarean section, and postoperative analgesia.