Analysis of the Current Status of Acute Postoperative Pain and Influencing Factors of Moderate to Severe Pain in Adult Patients Undergoing Ophthalmic Surgery Under General Anesthesia

J Pain Res. 2026 Feb 8;19:574297. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S574297. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the current status of acute postoperative pain in adult patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery under general anesthesia and to identify factors associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain, thereby offering insights for improving pain management in ophthalmic surgical patients.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 437 adult patients who underwent general anesthesia surgery in the Ophthalmology Department of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. The survey included a general information questionnaire, the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain, the Huaxi Emotional-Distress Index (HEI) questionnaire, and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS).

RESULTS: The incidence of acute postoperative pain was 95%, with a mild pain incidence of 45.5% and a moderate to severe pain incidence of 49.6%. The average time for postoperative pain to intensify to moderate to severe was 1.50 hours. The possibility of moderate to severe postoperative pain in people over 60 years old was 46% lower than that in people under 60 years old; the possibility of moderate to severe postoperative pain in ethnic minorities was 2.7 times that of Han people; the possibility of postoperative pain in patients undergoing orbital plastic surgery and enucleation of ocular contents+ implantation of ocular prosthesis was 2.64 times and 4.92 times that of those undergoing orbital tumor resection, respectively; the possibility of moderate to severe postoperative pain in patients with suspected insomnia and insomnia was 5.76 times and 12.31 times that of those without sleep disorders, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The incidence of acute postoperative pain in adult patients undergoing general anesthesia in ophthalmology is relatively high. Age, ethnicity, surgical methods, and sleep quality are influencing factors of moderate to severe postoperative pain. Medical staff should further strengthen pain management by addressing these influencing factors to reduce the incidence of moderate to severe postoperative pain in patients.

PMID:41890579 | PMC:PMC13016108 | DOI:10.2147/JPR.S574297