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Does chronic pre‐operative pain predict severe post‐operative pain after thoracotomy? A prospective longitudinal study
Author(s) -
HETMANN F.,
SCHOUBREDAL I.,
SANDVIK L.,
KONGSGAARD U. E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.12159
Subject(s) - medicine , analgesic , thoracotomy , depression (economics) , prospective cohort study , chronic pain , shoulders , anesthesia , physical therapy , anxiety , surgery , psychiatry , economics , macroeconomics
Background Despite advances in pain research, many patients still experience moderate to severe post‐operative pain that needs to be alleviated. The primary aim of this study was to identify predictive factors for severe post‐operative pain after thoracotomy. Secondary, we investigated the levels of post‐operative pain in this group of patients. Methods A prospective longitudinal study with 144 patients scheduled for thoracotomy was conducted between D ecember 2007 and A ugust 2010. All patients were given a questionnaire consisting of three sections (Brief Pain Inventory, Life Orientation Test‐revised and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) the day before surgery. Only those patients with pre‐existing chronic pain were asked to complete all three sections. Post‐operative pain scores were recorded three times a day for 6 days using the Numeric Rating Scale, and all analgesic consumption was recorded daily. Results Fifty‐four patients reported pre‐existing pain before surgery, most commonly from the neck, shoulders, lower back, hips or knees. For the first 3 days after surgery, the pain scores for those who had pre‐existing chronic pain and those who did not, where almost similar with no statistically significant difference. The total amount of the epidural analgesia‐mixture used where also almost similar for both groups with no statistically significant difference. Conclusion In contrast to previous studies, which have reported pre‐operative chronic pain to be a strong predictor of moderate to severe post‐operative pain, we have in our study not been able to replicate these findings.