Postoperative pain experienced by the candidates for gynecological surgery with lithotomy position

Abstract

Introduction: Failure to follow the standard principles in establishing lithotomy position will cause can lead to serious complications such as pain. This study was performed with aim to evaluate the pain experienced by patients in pressure areas in lithotomy position. Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed in 2017 on 200 female patients who had undergone gynecological surgery using lithotomy position in the teaching hospital of Karaj. The researcher-made questionnaire was used to assess pain experienced by patients; the questionnaire includes: patients' demographic information and the checklist of recording the amount and severity of pain using a standard ten-point scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22) and descriptive and inferential statistical tests of Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Kendall correlation coefficient. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Based on the results of data analysis, within 24 hours after the surgery, 180 patients had complaint from low back pain, 94 from the groin region pain, 164 from the knee pain and 34 from the ankle pain in moderate to severe level. Also, a high correlation was observed between the variables of patients' body mass index and duration of surgery with the incidence of pain in some areas such as the lumbar region and the ankle region. Conclusion: In this study, a significant percentage of patients following placed in the lithotomy position experienced postoperative pain in different areas.

Keywords

• gynecological surgery
• pain
• position