JPSIM Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine J Pak Soc Intern Med 2709-8729 2710-0804 Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine 10.70302/jpsim.v7i2.2631 jpsim.v7i2.2631 Original Research Factors Associated with Postoperative Pain among Patients after Thoracic Surgery in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of Punjab, Pakistan Tariq Anum Arooj Nabi Muhammad Shoaib one111@hotmail.com * Sarwar Zeeshan Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Services Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan *Correspondence: Muhammad Shoaib Nabi (one111@hotmail.com) 03 06 2026 2026 7 2 155 159 04 01 2026 12 04 2026 04 05 2026 Copyright © 2026 The Author(s) 2026 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective

To identify factors associated with postoperative pain severity among thoracic surgery patients at a tertiary care hospital in Punjab, Pakistan.

 Methodology

This cross-sectional study included 284 patients who underwent thoracic surgery between January-September 2025. Pain was assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at 24, 48, and 72 hours postoperatively. Multiple logistic regression identified independent predictors of severe pain.

 Results

Mean age was 52.3±14.6 years; 64.1% were male. Moderate to severe pain (VAS≥4) affected 68.3% at 24 hours, decreasing to 42.6% at 72 hours. Open thoracotomy (OR=4.23, 95% CI: 2.45-7.31, p180 minutes (OR=2.89, p

 Conclusion

Open thoracotomy, prolonged surgery, smoking, and obesity independently predict severe postoperative pain. Epidural analgesia and multimodal protocols can significantly improve outcomes in thoracic surgery patients.

 Keywords Postoperative pain thoracic surgery pain management epidural analgesia Visual Analog Scale Pakistan Ethics Statement

Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. Approval number: IRB/2025/1565/SIMS, dated March 26, 2025.

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