Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between age and postoperative 24-hour moderate-to-severe pain after radical resection of lung cancer and the specific effect of moderate-to-severe pain in the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) on this relationship. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Single medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: Patients ≥18 years having radical resection of lung cancer between 2018 and 2020. MEASUREMENTS: Postoperative 24-hour moderate-to-severe pain. RESULTS: A total of 3764 patients were included in the analysis. The incidence of postoperative 24-hour moderate-to-severe pain was 28.3%. Age had a significant effect on the prediction model of postoperative 24-hour moderate-to-severe pain. Among the whole population and those without moderate-to-severe pain in the PACU, those who were younger than 58.5 years were prone to experience moderate-to-severe pain 24 hours after surgery, and in patients with moderate-to-severe pain in the PACU, the age threshold was 62.5 years. CONCLUSION: For patients who underwent elective radical resection for lung cancer, age was related to postoperative 24-hour moderate-to-severe pain, and moderate-to-severe pain in the PACU had a specific effect on this relationship. Patients among the whole population and those patients without moderate-to-severe pain in the PACU were more likely to experience postoperative 24-hour moderate-to-severe pain when they were younger than 58.5 years old, and in patients with moderate-to-severe pain in the PACU, the age threshold was 62.5 years old.