The risk of shoulder pain after laparoscopic surgery for infertility is higher in thin patients

Xin You Li,Ke Zhong Li,Ming Tian,Ai Zhi Li,Chun Lei Han

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92762-3

Abstract

Postlaparoscopic shoulder pain (PLSP) is a common clinical problem that needs to be addressed by medical professionals who are currently perform laparoscopic surgeries. The purpose of this study was to determine the perioperative clinical factors and demographic characteristics associated with PLSP. A prospective observational study was performed with 442 inpatients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for infertility. The pain visual analogue scale was used as the measuring instrument. To identify the predictors of PLSP, we performed multivariate conditional logistic regression. PLSP was correlated with body mass index (BMI, odds ratio = 0.815). The incidence of shoulder pain and more severe shoulder pain in patients with a lower BMI was significantly higher than it was in patients with a higher BMI, and BMI was significantly negatively correlated with PLSP. Most of the patients (95%) began to experience shoulder pain on the first postoperative day, and it rarely occurred on the day of surgery. Patients with lower BMI presented a higher risk of reporting shoulder pain on the first postoperative day. We should identify high-risk patients in advance and make specific treatment plans according to the characteristics of their symptoms.

Highlights

Postlaparoscopic shoulder pain (PLSP) is a common clinical problem that needs to be addressed by medical professionals who are currently perform laparoscopic surgeries
Stepwise positive regression analysis showed that Body mass index (BMI) was an independent predictor of PLSP (OR = 0.815)
The scatter plot of BMI and pain score showed that patients with low BMI were more likely to have shoulder pain after operation, and the degree of shoulder pain was more severe. (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Postlaparoscopic shoulder pain (PLSP) is a common clinical problem that needs to be addressed by medical professionals who are currently perform laparoscopic surgeries. Patients with lower BMI presented a higher risk of reporting shoulder pain on the first postoperative day. In China, an increasing number of patients have chosen laparoscopic-assisted surgery for infertility assessment and treatment for various reasons in recent years. In addition to the advantages mentioned above, the choice of laparoscopic-assisted surgery is largely due to the small abdominal incision, minimal scarring and the low incidence of abdominal adhesions, which is conducive to the subsequent pregnancy and delivery process. The abdominal incision is small, many patients complain of postlaparoscopic shoulder pain (PLSP)[12,13,14,15,16].

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