Gender aspect and intensitivity of acute pain syndrome after septoplastics

Aim. To reveal the specifics of intensity of an acute painful syndrome distribution in men and women after a septoplastics.

Material and methods. An acute pain syndrome was studied after septoplasty of the cartilaginous part of the septum of the nose in 46 men (16–44 years) and in 36 women (20–37 years) under local application anesthesia with a 2% solution of lidocaine and infiltration anesthesia with 5% procaine solution. Acute pain was assessed in millimeters (out of 100 possible) using a visual analog scale (VAS), a digital rating scale (DRS), and a verbal zipper scale (VZS). The mean values were calculated from three scales for each patient. Data derived from the scales were divided into 4 categories according to pain intensity: miserable pain (or no pain) 0–25 mm, mild pain 26–50 mm, severe pain 51–75 mm, very severe pain 76–100 mm. The data were compared between the categories for both men and women, and the corresponding categories between men and women. Results. The intensity of pain in women is significantly higher than in men (p<0.01); when women assess the pain syndrome from 76 to 100 mm according to the DRH, these results are false positive, when compared with those of VAS and VZS. This fact must be taken into account when choosing analgesic therapy after septoplasty.

Conclusions. The intensity of acute postoperative pain syndrome in the early period after septoplasty of the cartilaginous part of the septum of the nose is significantly higher in women than in men. This allows us to consider the sex factor as a predictor of the intensity of pain in this type of surgery and conduct appropriate anesthesia. The use of VAS and VZS to diagnose the intensity of acute pain in patients after septoplasty is reasonable without restrictions, regardless of gender. When using the DRS in patients after septoplasty, it is necessary to take in to account that women indicate a stronger pain compared to VAS and VZS.

Key words: pain syndrome, sex, analogue pain scales.

Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article. Source of financing. Unspecified.

For citations: Kastyro I.V., Popadyuk V.I., Tоrshin V.I., Barinov A.V., Khamidulin G.V., Melikyan M.A., Ponomareva D.P., Kashchenko A.N., Drozdova G.A. Gender aspect and intensitivity of acute pain syndrome after septoplastics. Golova I Sheya = Head and neck. Russian Journal. 2018;6(2):27–34 (in Russian).

 The authors are responsible for the originality of the presented data and the possibility of publishing illustrative material – tables, drawings, photographs of patients.