Prevalence and severity of pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances among surgical patients: a nationwide single-day multicentre flash mob study - Scorecard - MDSpire

Prevalence and severity of pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances among surgical patients: a nationwide single-day multicentre flash mob study

  • By

  • Jetske M Stoop

  • Roos Geensen

  • Sophie C Adam

  • Kayleigh A M van Dam

  • Els van Dessel

  • Annemarie Dolmans-Zwartjes

  • Margot Heijmans

  • Audrey C H M Jongen

  • Mirjam Kaijser

  • Chantal A ten Kate

  • Joanna Luttikhold

  • Flores M Metz

  • Laura van Zeggeren

  • PASS-Flash Mob Collaborator Group

  • Antonia S Becker

  • Isabel Berger

  • Annelotte Beutler

  • Lok Sam Samantha Cheng

  • Manon Bindels

  • Marco Dam

  • Thomas L A Dirven

  • Raphael M J Fischer

  • Marleen Goddrie

  • Manuel A Gonçalves Garcia

  • Tanneke Herklots

  • Jens Homan

  • Ellaha Kakar

  • Elize W Lockhorst

  • Joost Nonner

  • Nuray Onayli-Altin

  • Arno Oomen

  • Esther van de Poll

  • Niels Schep

  • Thomas Schok

  • D J A Sonneveld

  • J M E Stam

  • Joline Stolk

  • Tamara Remijn-Rentmeester

  • Natali S Talukder

  • Sarah Vandenhaute

  • Emy van der Valk Bouman

  • Jorrit G Verhoeven

  • Jacqueline E M Vernooij

  • Marieke A Vlek

  • Maud Voesten

  • José H Volders

  • Koen J Vree Egberts

  • Patrick W H E Vriens

  • Selina J Wijbenga

  • Wilhelmina A M van Wijngaarden

  • Helma Zanders

  • Johannes Jeekel

  • Markus Klimek

  • July 17, 2025

  • 0 min

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Clinical Scorecard: Assessment of Pain, Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep Disturbances in Surgical Patients: Findings from a Nationwide One-Day Multicenter Study

At a Glance

CategoryDetail
ConditionPerioperative pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances
Key MechanismsPatient-reported outcomes reflecting subjective health indicators that impact postoperative recovery including prolonged hospital stay, cardiovascular events, and chronic pain development
Target PopulationAdult surgical patients with expected hospital stay of at least one night, excluding neurosurgery, cardiothoracic, and orthopaedic surgery patients
Care SettingDutch hospitals during perioperative period

Key Highlights

  • Moderate to severe pain was prevalent in 69.7% of patients, occurring most frequently post-surgery.
  • Anxiety was present in 38.1% of patients, more common preoperatively; stress affected 37.8% with similar pre- and postoperative prevalence.
  • Sleep disturbances were reported by 64.1% of patients and were more severe in those with lower socioeconomic status.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

  • Use validated patient-reported outcome measures (Numeric Rating Scale for pain, Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety, Perceived Stress Scale, adapted PROMIS for sleep disturbances) to assess perioperative symptoms.

Management

  • Recognize pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances as relevant perioperative complications requiring routine evaluation.
  • Implement additional measures for monitoring and managing these patient-reported outcomes to improve postoperative recovery.

Monitoring & Follow-up

  • Conduct routine pre- and postoperative assessments of pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances using standardized PRO tools.

Risks

  • Unmanaged perioperative pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances may lead to prolonged hospital stay, increased medication use, cardiovascular events, delirium, and chronic pain development.

Patient & Prescribing Data

Adult surgical patients admitted for at least one night excluding neurosurgery, cardiothoracic, and orthopaedic surgeries

Females experienced more severe pain and anxiety; patients with lower socioeconomic status had more severe sleep disturbances, indicating the need for tailored perioperative management.

Clinical Best Practices

  • Incorporate patient-reported outcome measures into routine perioperative assessment protocols.
  • Address psychological factors such as anxiety and stress alongside physical symptoms to optimize recovery.
  • Consider socioeconomic factors when evaluating sleep disturbances and tailor interventions accordingly.

References

Original Source(s)

Prevalence and severity of pain, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances among surgical patients: a nationwide single-day multicentre flash mob study

  • by Jetske M Stoop, Roos Geensen, Sophie C Adam, Kayleigh A M van Dam, Els van Dessel, Annemarie Dolmans-Zwartjes, Margot Heijmans, Audrey C H M Jongen, Mirjam Kaijser, Chantal A ten Kate, Joanna Luttikhold, Flores M Metz, Laura van Zeggeren, PASS-Flash Mob Collaborator Group, Antonia S Becker, Isabel Berger, Annelotte Beutler, Lok Sam Samantha Cheng, Manon Bindels, Marco Dam, Thomas L A Dirven, Raphael M J Fischer, Marleen Goddrie, Manuel A Gonçalves Garcia, Tanneke Herklots, Jens Homan, Ellaha Kakar, Elize W Lockhorst, Joost Nonner, Nuray Onayli-Altin, Arno Oomen, Esther van de Poll, Niels Schep, Thomas Schok, D J A Sonneveld, J M E Stam, Joline Stolk, Tamara Remijn-Rentmeester, Natali S Talukder, Sarah Vandenhaute, Emy van der Valk Bouman, Jorrit G Verhoeven, Jacqueline E M Vernooij, Marieke A Vlek, Maud Voesten, José H Volders, Koen J Vree Egberts, Patrick W H E Vriens, Selina J Wijbenga, Wilhelmina A M van Wijngaarden, Helma Zanders, Johannes Jeekel, Markus Klimek

  • July 17, 2025

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