Assessing sleep quality in gynecologic oncology patients after surgery

• Published in: Gynecologic oncology Vol. 162; p. S92
• Main Authors: Grubbs, Allison, Cowan, Matthew, Pyrzak, Adam, Saiz, Allison, Bilimoria, Karl, Barber, Emma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Hematology, Oncology, and Palliative Medicine; Obstetrics and Gynecology
• ISSN: 0090-8258
• DOI: 10.1016/S0090-8258(21)00816-7

High quality sleep is important for maintaining immune function, wound healing, and physical and emotional well-being. Our objective was to determine the quality of sleep in women admitted for post-operative recovery after surgical management for a suspected gynecologic malignancy. We surveyed women who were admitted to the hospital for at least one midnight after undergoing a surgical procedure for a suspected gynecologic malignancy between September 2020 and October 2020. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (19 item self-report questionnaire) was used to assess baseline sleep quality in the month prior to the planned procedure. The Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (5 item self-report survey) was used to assess nightly sleep quality during the subject's hospitalization. A chart review was also completed to assess for patient or surgical factors associated with poor sleep. Twenty-three patients met the study criteria, of which 20 (87%) agreed to participate. The mean age was 58 (SD = 15), the mean BMI was 32.2 (SD = 8.3). Eighty percent of patients underwent surgery for confirmed malignancy, with uterine cancer (30%) and ovarian cancer (25) comprising the majority of diagnoses. The median admission length was 2 days interquartile range (IQR = 1-4.5), fifty percent of patients underwent an open procedure. Based on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) results, 15 patients (75%) reported poor sleep quality in the month prior to their surgery. The total RCSQ score was the worst on the first post-operative day (38.3, SD = 28.3). Sleep quality improved on post-operative day 2 (67.3, SD = 12.2), but then declined over the remainder of the hospitalization. Sleep quality is poor in women hospitalized after surgery with gynecologic oncologists. Sleep is an under recognized factor in optimizing postoperative recovery. The high prevalence of poor sleep during hospital-based post-operative recovery among gynecologic oncology patients warrants the development of evidence-based interventions for improving sleep and sleep quality.