Patient-reported pain after surgical removal of leukoplakia – an observational 1-year follow-up study

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the study cohort.

	No. of patients N (%)^a	Pain at baseline N (%)^b	p Value^c	Pain at 1-year post surgery N (%)^b	p Value^c
Study cohort	94 (100%)	20 (21.3%)		13 (13.8%)
Gender			.32		.038
Male	48 (51.1%)	8 (16.7%)		3 (6.2%)
Female	46 (48.9%)	12 (26.1%)		10 (21.7%)
Age (at first appointment)			.62		.55
≤62 years	48 (51.1%)	9 (18.8%)		8 (16.7%)
>62 years	46 (48.9%)	11 (23.9%)		5 (10.9%)
Clinical appearance			.071		.36
Homogeneous	56 (59.6%)	8 (14.3%)		6 (10.7%)
Non-homogeneous	38 (40.4%)	12 (31.6%)		7 (18.4%)
Size of OL			.59		1.00
≥200 mm^2	31 (33.0%)	8 (25.8%)		4 (12.9%)
<200 mm^2	63 (67.0%)	12 (19.0%)		9 (14.3%)
Dysplasia			.11		.022
Yes	19 (20.2%)	7 (36.8%)		6 (31.6%)
No	75 (79.8%)	13 (17.3%)		7 (9.3%)
Smoking			1.00		.71
Yes	18 (19.1%)	4 (22.2%)		3 (16.7%)
No	76 (80.9%)	16 (21.0%)		10 (13.2%)
Snuff			.12		.35
Yes	10 (10.9%)	0 (0%)		0 (0%)
No	82 (89.1%)	19 (23.2%)		13 (15.8%)
No data	2	1
Alcohol consumption			.80		.38
Yes	41 (43.6%)	8 (19.5%)		4 (9.8%)
Rarely/never	53 (56.4%)	12 (22.6%)		9 (17.0%)
Site			.002		.096
Gingiva	33 (35.1%)	3 (9.1%)		3 (9.1%)
Lateral side of the tongue	26 (27.7%)	12 (46.2%)		7 (26.9%)
Other	35 (37.2%)	5 (14.3%)		3 (8.6%)
Pain at baseline			–		.006
Yes	20 (21.3%)	20 (21.3%)		7 (35.0%)
No	74 (78.7%)	0 (0%)		6 (8.1%)

^a Column percent.

^b Row percent.

^c Fisher’s exact test.

The bold values are statistically significant.

Table 2. Levels of pain reported by patients at baseline and at 1-year follow-up.

	No. of patients at baseline (%)				No. of patients at 1-year follow-up (%)
Level of pain (VAS)	0	Low (1–3)	Moderate (4–6)	Severe (7 –10)	0	Low (1–3)	Moderate (4–6)	Severe (7–10)
Group (i)	68 (100)	–	–	–	68 (100)	–		–
Group (ii)	–	14 (70.0)	4 (20.0)	2 (10.0)	13 (65.0)	6 (30.0)	1 (5.0)	–
Group (iii)	6 (46.2)	6 (46.2)	1 (7.6)	–		10 (76.9)	3 (23.1)	–

Table 3. Risk factors at baseline for pain at 1-year post surgery.

	Univariable logistic regression		Multivariable logistic regression
	Odds ratio (95% CI)	p Value	Odds ratio (95% CI)	p Value
Gender		.040		.056
Male	1.0 (Ref.)		1.0 (Ref.)
Female	4.2 (1.1–16)		4.2 (1.0–19)
Age (at first appointment)		.29
≤62 years	1.0 (Ref.)
>62 years	0.5 (0.1–1.8)
Clinical appearance		.29
Homogeneous OL	1.0 (Ref.)
Non-homogeneous OL	1.9 (0.6–6.1)
Size of OL		.86
≥200 mm^2	1.0 (Ref.)
<200 mm^2	1.1 (0.3–4.0)
Dysplasia		.018		.051
Yes	4.5 (1.3–16)		3.8 (1.0–15)
No	1.0 (Ref.)		1.0 (Ref.)
Smoking		.70
Yes	1.3 (0.3–5.4)
No	1.0 (Ref.)
Snuff
Yes	–
No	–
Alcohol consumption		.32
Yes	1.9 (0.5–6.6)
Rarely/never	1.0 (Ref.)
Site
Gingiva	1.0 (Ref)
Lateral side of the tongue	3.7 (0.8–16)	.08
Other	0.9 (0.2–5.0)	.94
Pain at baseline		.004		.014
Yes	6.1 (1.8–21)		5.2 (1.4–19)
No	1.0 (Ref.)		1.0 (Ref.)

Uni- and multivariable logistic regression.

The bold values are statistically significant.