title: Does chronic pre-operative pain predict severe post-operative pain after thoracotomy? A prospective longitudinal study.
abstract: 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 December 2007 and August 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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. fredrik@hetmann.no
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hetmann
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schou-Bredal
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sandvik
authors.forename: U E
authors.initials: UE
authors.lastname: Kongsgaard
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000150:complications*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013908:Thoracotomy