Background: Pain is an inevitable part of postoperative period. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is a common for self-reported pain assessment tool, while Perfusion index (PI) is a non-invasive, objective pain assessment tool. This study was conducted to assess the PI as a tool for acute postoperative pain assessment by correlating it with Visual Analogue Scale score for pain assessment. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was done for a period of one year. Study included 60 patients, aged 18-60 years, scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia. Data, including PI, VAS score, pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and respiratory rate (RR), were collected at specific time points: before premedication (baseline), upon arrival at PACU, at the first request for analgesia (T1), 15 minutes after providing analgesics (T1+15), 30 minutes after providing analgesics (T1+30), when VAS was <3 (T2), and before discharge from PACU. Data thus collected was subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Mean age of study patients was 37.4±10.9 years, with majority being female. There was a positive trend in PI and a corresponding negative trend in VAS scores over time following analgesia administration. Specifically, the PI increased gradually, indicating improved peripheral perfusion, while the VAS scores decreased, reflecting a reduction in pain levels, thus indicating a significant inverse relationship between Perfusion Index and VAS scores during the postoperative period. Conclusions: Monitoring PI in postoperative period is a promising tool for postoperative pain management and it appears to be an excellent objective pain assessment tool.

Analgesia, Objective measure, Pain, Perfusion index, Visual Analog Scale (VAS),