Premium
Prediction of post‐operative pain after a laparoscopic tubal ligation procedure
Author(s) -
RUDIN Å.,
WÖLNERHANSSEN P.,
HELLBOM M.,
WERNER M. U.
Publication year - 2008
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/j.1399-6576.2008.01641.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anxiety , pain catastrophizing , visual analogue scale , physical therapy , mood , mcgill pain questionnaire , hospital anxiety and depression scale , pain scale , pain assessment , depression (economics) , anesthesia , chronic pain , psychiatry , pain management , macroeconomics , economics
Background: Pre‐operative identification of reliable predictors of post‐operative pain may lead to improved pain management strategies. We investigated the correlation between pre‐operative pain, psychometric variables, response to heat stimuli and post‐operative pain following a laparoscopic tubal ligation procedure. Methods: Assessments of anxiety, mood, psychological vulnerability and pre‐operative pain were made before surgery using the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), a psychological vulnerability test and the Short‐Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF‐MPQ), respectively. Pre‐operative assessments of thermal thresholds and pain response to randomized series of heat stimuli (1 s, 44–48 °C) were made with quantitative sensory testing technique. Post‐operative pain intensity was evaluated daily by a visual analogue scale during rest and during standardized dynamic conditions for 10 days following surgery. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to construct prediction models. Results: Fifty‐nine patients completed the study. Post‐operative pain was significantly correlated with pre‐operative pain (SF‐MPQ), heat pain perception, psychological vulnerability, STAI and HADS. In the multiple regression model pre‐operative pain and heat pain perception were significant predictive factors ( R =0.537–0.609). Conclusion: The study indicates that pre‐surgical pain and heat pain sensitivity are important pre‐operative indicators of post‐operative pain intensity, while psychological factors like vulnerability and anxiety seem to contribute to a lesser degree after laparoscopic tubal ligation. The prediction model accounted for 29–43% of the total variance in post‐operative movement‐related pain.