Prevalence of Postoperative Pain Following Hospital Discharge: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Pain is one of the most common, feared, and unpleasant symptoms associated with surgery. However, there is a clear gap in patient care after surgical patients are discharged from hospital, resulting in poorly controlled postoperative pain. Inadequate pain management after discharge can have detrimental effects on quality of life and lead to the development of chronic postsurgical pain. The severity of postoperative pain before discharge is well described, but less emphasis has been placed on assessing pain at home after hospital discharge. Objective The objective of this review is to summarize the prevalence of moderate-to-severe postoperative pain within the first 1 to 14 days after hospital discharge. Methods A detailed search of epidemiological studies investigating postoperative pain will be conducted on MEDLINE and EMBASE from their inception until the date the searches are run. The primary outcome will be the proportion of patients reporting moderate-to-severe postoperative pain at rest and with movement within the first 1 to 14 days after hospital discharge. The secondary outcomes will include a comparison of postoperative pain after discharge between patients who underwent ambulatory and inpatient surgery, and adverse outcomes attributable to poor pain control after hospital discharge (eg, readmission to hospital, emergency room or other unplanned medical visits, or a decrease in quality of life). Results The protocol has been registered in PROSPERO (registration number CRD42020194346). The search strategies for MEDLINE and EMBASE have been completed. The final results are expected to be published in May 2021. Conclusions This systematic review is expected to synthesize evidence describing the prevalence of postoperative pain after hospital discharge. Available epidemiological evidence may help inform the magnitude of the problem of postoperative pain at home after hospital discharge. Trial Registration PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020194346; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=194346 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/22437