Table 7.
Differences in Postoperative Clinical Characteristics Among the Breast Pain Classes
| Characteristic | No Pain (0) n=126 (31.7%) | Mild Pain (1) n=173 (43.4%) | Moderate Pain (2) n=53 (13.3%) | Severe Pain (3) n=46 (11.6%) | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||
|
| |||||
| Number of postoperative complications | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.3 (0.6) | NS |
|
| |||||
| Severity of average postoperative pain | 2.8 (2.1) | 3.7 (2.2) | 4.4 (2.3) | 6.5 (2.2) | F=30.81, p<.0001 0 <1, 2, and 3; 1 and 2 < 3 |
|
| |||||
| Severity of worst postoperative pain | 4.2 (2.6) | 5.0 (2.6) | 6.1 (2.4) | 7.9 (2.5) | F=23.36, p<.0001 0 < 1, 2 and 3; 1 and 2 <3 |
|
| |||||
| Amount of relief from analgesics (%) | 79.6 (26.4) | 80.3 (21.0) | 77.2 (21.6) | 73.1 (22.8) | NS |
|
| |||||
| Satisfaction with postoperative pain treatment | 9.0 (1.9) | 8.7 (1.9) | 8.2 (2.4) | 7.8 (2.7) | F=3.85, p=.01 0 > 3 |
|
| |||||
| % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | ||
|
| |||||
| Placement of surgical drain | NS | ||||
| None | 69.0 (87) | 56.1 (97) | 62.3 (33) | 56.5 (26) | |
| Only in breast | 14.3 (18) | 20.2 (35) | 13.2 (7) | 8.7 (4) | |
| Only in axilla | 12.7 (16) | 19.1 (33) | 13.2 (7) | 28.3 (13) | |
| In both breast and axilla | 4.0 (5) | 4.6 (8) | 4.6 (8) | 6.5 (3) | |
|
| |||||
| Had a postoperative complication | NS | ||||
| Yes | 18.3 (23) | 21.5 (37) | 21.6 (11) | 26.1 (12) | |
| No | 81.7 (103) | 78.5 (135) | 78.4 (40) | 73.9 (34) | |
|
| |||||
| Had a seroma | NS | ||||
| Yes | 11.1 (14) | 11.6 (20) | 5.7 (3) | 6.5 (3) | |
| No | 88.9 (112) | 88.4 (153) | 94.3 (50) | 93.5 (43 | |
|
| |||||
| Had a hematoma | NS | ||||
| Yes | 4.8 (6) | 5.2 (9) | 3.8 (2) | 13.0 (6) | |
| No | 95.2 (120) | 94.8 (164) | 96.2 (51) | 87.0 (40) | |
|
| |||||
| Had bleeding | NS | ||||
| Yes | 0.0 (0) | 1.2 (2) | 1.9 (1) | 4.3 (2) | |
| No | 100.0 (126) | 98.8 (171) | 98.1 (52) | 95.7 (44) | |
|
| |||||
| Had a wound infection | NS | ||||
| Yes | 3.2 (4) | 4.0 (7) | 3.8 (2) | 6.5 (3) | |
| No | 96.8 (122) | 96.0 (166) | 96.2 (51) | 93.5 (43) | |
|
| |||||
| Received radiation therapy during the 6 months | χ2=12.39, p=.006 1 and 3 < 2 |
||||
| Yes | 56.3 (71) | 54.3 (94) | 75.5 (40) | 41.3 (19) | |
| No | 43.7 (55) | 45.7 (79) | 24.5 (13) | 58.7 (27) | |
|
| |||||
| Received adjuvant chemotherapy during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 31.7 (40) | 34.7 (60) | 28.3 (15) | 39.1 (18) | |
| No | 68.3 (86) | 65.3 (113) | 71.7 (38) | 60.9 (28) | |
|
| |||||
| Received hormonal therapy during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 45.2 (57) | 41.6 (72) | 47.2 (25) | 30.4 (14) | |
| No | 54.8 (69) | 58.4 (101) | 52.8 (28) | 69.6 (32) | |
|
| |||||
| Received biological therapy during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 8.7 (11) | 12.7 (22) | 13.2 (7) | 6.5 (3) | |
| No | 91.3 (115) | 87.3 (151) | 86.8 (46) | 93.5 (43) | |
|
| |||||
| Received complementary therapy during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 23.8 (30) | 28.3 (49) | 34.0 (18) | 23.9 (11) | |
| No | 76.2 (96) | 71.7 (124) | 66.0 (35) | 76.1 (35) | |
|
| |||||
| Received physical therapy during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 9.5 (12) | 19.1 (33) | 17.0 (9) | 19.6 (9) | |
| No | 90.5 (114) | 80.9 (140) | 83.0 (44) | 80.4 (37) | |
|
| |||||
| Had breast reconstruction during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 4.8 (6) | 10.4 (18) | 5.7 (3) | 2.2 (1) | |
| No | 95.2 (120) | 89.6 (155) | 94.3 (50) | 97.8 (45) | |
|
| |||||
| Breast cancer recurred during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | |
| No | 100.0 (126) | 100.0 (173) | 100.0 (53) | 100.0 (46) | |
|
| |||||
| Had re-excision or mastectomy during the 6 months | χ2=9.77, p=.021 0<3 |
||||
| Yes | 18.3 (23) | 31.2 (54) | 26.4 (14) | 39.1 (18) | |
| No | 81.7 (103) | 68.8 (119) | 73.6 (39) | 60.9 (18) | |
|
| |||||
| Any other surgery during the 6 months | χ2=8.34, p=.04 No significant pairwise contrasts |
||||
| Yes | 7.1 (9) | 13.9 (24) | 1.9 (1) | 13.0 (6) | |
| No | 92.9 (117) | 86.1 (149) | 98.1 (52) | 87.0 (40) | |
|
| |||||
| Evidence of metastatic disease during the 6 months | NS | ||||
| Yes | 0.0 (0) | 0.6 (1) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | |
| No | 100.0 (126) | 99.4 (172) | 100.0 (53) | 100.0 (46) | |
Abbreviations: NS = Not significant, SD = standard deviation