Objective:

To assess the effectiveness of postoperative assessment for distress symptom clusters in individuals undergoing surgical intervention for pituitary adenoma (PA), focusing on clinical outcomes.

Key Findings:

• Screening group showed significant reductions in PROMIS T-scores for pain interference (4.926), fatigue (5.283), and sleep disruption (4.475), all surpassing the minimally important difference (MID) with p-values indicating statistical significance.
• Lower levels of inflammatory cytokines were observed in the screening group (p < 0.05), suggesting improved inflammatory status.
• Reduced cumulative rates of hospital readmission (log-rank p < 0.001) and failure to return to work (log-rank p < 0.001) in the screening group, indicating better recovery.
• Enhanced EQ-5D scores in the screening group (p < 0.05), reflecting improved quality of life.
• Minor adverse events reported in 7.8% of screening participants, indicating a manageable safety profile.

Interpretation:

Postoperative screening for distress symptom clusters significantly improved pain, fatigue, and sleep quality, alongside better inflammatory status and quality of life metrics, suggesting a need for routine implementation in clinical practice.

Limitations:

• The study was limited to a specific patient population undergoing surgery for pituitary adenomas, which may affect generalizability.
• Potential biases inherent in observational studies despite the use of propensity score matching, including unmeasured confounding factors.

Conclusion:

Postoperative assessment for distress symptom clusters is beneficial in reducing pain interference, fatigue, and sleep disruptions, while improving overall quality of life and reducing hospital readmissions, highlighting its importance in postoperative care.