Preoperative quality‐of‐life measures predict acute postoperative pain in endoscopic sinus surgery

Objectives Recent increases in opioid‐related mortality have prompted a critical evaluation of postoperative pain management across all specialties. However, successfully limiting narcotic overprescription requires perioperative identification of patients who are at risk for high postoperative pain. Unfortunately, quality data to guide practice patterns are lacking. We therefore prospectively investigated several possible predictive factors of postoperative pain after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Methods Sixty‐four consecutive patients undergoing ESS were enrolled. Baseline 22‐item SinoNasal Outcomes Test (SNOT‐22) and Short‐Form 8 (SF‐8) scores were obtained. Pain scores were collected postoperatively using a numeric rating scale. Spearman correlations and univariate linear regression models were used to investigate relationships between postoperative pain, patient factors, and SNOT‐22/SF‐8 domain scores. Multivariate linear regression was then performed to control for potential confounding variables. Results Day‐of‐surgery pain scores were significantly correlated with the SF‐8 role‐physical domain (Rs = 0.32, P = 0.04). Whereas SF‐8 pain scores were initially nonsignificant, at postoperative day 3 (POD3) the preoperative SF‐8 pain score became correlated with self‐reported pain (Rs = 0.39, P = 0.02). SNOT‐22 total and subdomain scores were not associated with pain scores at any time point. Multivariate linear regression modelling identified baseline SF‐8 role‐physical and pain scores, smoking status, and undergoing a modified Lothrop procedure as significant independent predictors of POD3 pain (adjusted R2 = 0.359, P < 0.0001). Conclusion Baseline patient‐reported global quality‐of‐life measures are associated with postoperative pain after ESS. Large multicenter studies are necessary to validate these findings and investigate additional factors associated with postoperative pain following ESS. Level of Evidence 2c Laryngoscope, 129:1274–1279, 2019