PURPOSE: In Korea, living donor transplantation is increasing steadily as a life-saving alternative. It is essential to provide living donors the mental and physical care they need throughout their lives including postoperative period. Therefore, this study explored postoperative pain among living liver donors. METHODS: We used a convenience sampling at a university-affiliated hospital from March 1 to August 30, 2009 including 102 subjects. Face-to-face interviews with questionnaires and medical records were used to assess postoperative pain levels, state and trait anxiety as well as satisfaction. Data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill, USA). RESULTS: Average age of donors was 28.9±7.7 years (ranged 16 to 53) with 70.6% male. Most donors (80.4%, n=82) were immediate family members. Ninety-one (89.2%) participants made the decision by themselves. To control postoperative pain, all participants had patient-controlled anesthesia with several types of analgesics as prescribed by physician's preference. The mean values of state anxiety, trait anxiety, and satisfaction in this study were 2.1±1.89, 36.7±7.25 and, 8.9±1.79, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that trait anxiety and number of analgesics use were significantly associated with postoperative pain. Overall, approximately 29.7% of total variability in postoperative pain could be explained by the nine variables in this model (R2=0.297, F9,102=4.28, (P<.001). There was no multicollinearity checked by tolerance, variation inflation factor, or condition index. CONCLUSION: This study of postoperative pain among living liver donors may contribute to developing the safest, most effective strategy to relieve postoperative pain after living liver donation. Copyright Â
PURPOSE: In Korea, living donor transplantation is increasing steadily as a life-saving alternative. It is essential to provide living donors the mental and physical care they need throughout their lives including postoperative period. Therefore, this study explored postoperative pain among living liver donors. METHODS: We used a convenience sampling at a university-affiliated hospital from March 1 to August 30, 2009 including 102 subjects. Face-to-face interviews with questionnaires and medical records were used to assess postoperative pain levels, state and trait anxiety as well as satisfaction. Data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill, USA). RESULTS: Average age of donors was 28.9±7.7 years (ranged 16 to 53) with 70.6% male. Most donors (80.4%, n=82) were immediate family members. Ninety-one (89.2%) participants made the decision by themselves. To control postoperative pain, all participants had patient-controlled anesthesia with several types of analgesics as prescribed by physician's preference. The mean values of state anxiety, trait anxiety, and satisfaction in this study were 2.1±1.89, 36.7±7.25 and, 8.9±1.79, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that trait anxiety and number of analgesics use were significantly associated with postoperative pain. Overall, approximately 29.7% of total variability in postoperative pain could be explained by the nine variables in this model (R2=0.297, F9,102=4.28, (P<.001). There was no multicollinearity checked by tolerance, variation inflation factor, or condition index. CONCLUSION: This study of postoperative pain among living liver donors may contribute to developing the safest, most effective strategy to relieve postoperative pain after living liver donation. Copyright Â