Patient Perception and Duration of Pain after Microdirect Laryngoscopy

Objective Postoperative pain is an important part of the patient’s surgical experience. The objective was to evaluate patient perception and duration of pain after microdirect laryngoscopy (MDL). Study Design Case series with planned data collection. Setting Tertiary care, academic center. Subjects and Methods Adult patients undergoing MDL were administered the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) before surgery and on postoperative days (PODs) 1, 3, and 7. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Results In total, 130 patients (mean age 52.6 years, 84 male) participated in the study. About 46.2% required analgesia on POD 1, but only 23.1% required opioids. Overall, mild levels of pain were reported on the SF-MPQ: sensory score, affective score, total score, present pain intensity (PPI), and visual analog scale (VAS). Patients reported a significant increase in pain on POD 1, with decreases in pain on PODs 3 and 7. Pain score returned to preoperative values for total score and affective score on POD 7 but remained significantly elevated for PPI, VAS, and sensory score. None of the following factors were associated with increased pain: age, sex, body mass index, Mallampati score, Cormack score, laryngoscope used, type of MDL, time under anesthesia, employment status, intubation, Voice Handicap Index 10, and chronic pain history. Conclusion Although mild levels of pain were reported after MDL, the pain persisted for up to 7 days. No demographic or clinical factors were found to be associated with increased pain. This study was one of the few prospective studies evaluating pain after MDL.