Postop Pain Differs by Vitamin D Status - Summary - MDSpire

Postop Pain Differs by Vitamin D Status

Patients with preoperative vitamin D deficiency had higher postoperative pain scores and opioid use after mastectomy, including more than triple the odds of moderate to severe pain within 24 hours of surgery.

  • By

  • Kathryn Wighton

  • May 27, 2026

  • 3 min

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Objective:

To investigate the relationship between preoperative vitamin D status and postoperative pain levels in breast cancer surgery patients.

Key Findings:
  • 17% of vitamin D-deficient patients reported moderate to severe pain at 12 hours post-surgery compared to 2% in the vitamin D-sufficient group.
  • At 6 hours post-surgery, moderate to severe pain was reported by 33% of vitamin D-deficient patients versus 20% of those with sufficient vitamin D.
  • Vitamin D deficiency was associated with more than three times the odds of experiencing moderate to severe postoperative pain during the first 24 hours after surgery.
Interpretation:

Limitations:
  • The study was conducted at a single center with all participants being Egyptian, which may limit generalizability.
  • Short follow-up period and lack of assessment of inflammatory markers, anxiety, depression, cancer stage, neoadjuvant therapy, or sleep disturbance.
Conclusion:

Original Source(s)

Postop Pain Differs by Vitamin D Status

  • by Kathryn Wighton

  • May 27, 2026

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