The researchers followed 2,929 patients undergoing three common types of surgery for two years, assessing their pain at four, 12 and 24 months after surgery. According to study results, 18 percent of the patients developed chronic pain after four months, and 5.2 percent still experiencing chronic pain after 24 months.
The scoring system was developed based on six predictors among the patients in the study:
• Type of surgery
• Age
• Physical health status
• Mental health status
• Preoperative pain in the surgical area
• Preoperative pain in another area
“This scoring system improves the way we examine patients prior to surgery, which is based on an extensive physical examination rather than just clinical factors,” said Antonio Montes Perez, MD, PhD, lead study author, department of anesthesiology, Hospital de Mar in Barcelona, Spain. “As far as genetic influence, additional research should be conducted to determine whether or not other genetic factors not considered in this study contribute to chronic pain after surgery.”
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