Post-operative pain leads to less sleep, longer hospital stays

Patients who experience more pain after surgery reported poor sleep while they were in the hospital, often resulting in longer length of stays, according to a study announcement from researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Researchers said better pain control could potentially improve sleep patterns for post-surgical patients. Researchers observed 50 patients who underwent hip or knee replacements, examining their sleep time, sleep efficiency, pain scores and use of narcotics for pain. Study results found those patients have significantly decreased sleep efficiency, which results in higher pain scores, while better pain control can result in improved sleep efficiency. Better sleep efficiency can ultimately result in decreased length of stay in the hospital after surgery. Announcement