
Fulltext:
71376.pdf
Embargo:
until further notice
Size:
261.3Kb
Format:
PDF
Description:
publisher's version
Publication year
2008Source
Journal of Pain, 9, 10, (2008), pp. 955-961ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
Anesthesiology
Cardio Thoracic Surgery
Pulmonary Diseases
Former Organization
Thoracic Cardiac Surgery
Journal title
Journal of Pain
Volume
vol. 9
Issue
iss. 10
Page start
p. 955
Page end
p. 961
Subject
DCN 1: Perception and Action; EBP 3: Effective Primary Care and Public Health; NCEBP 7: Effective primary care and public health; ONCOL 5: Aetiology, screening and detection; UMCN 1.5: Interventional oncology; UMCN 2.1: Heart, lung and circulationAbstract
Chronic pain is a common complication after thoracic surgery. The cause of chronic post-thoracotomy pain is often suggested to be intercostal nerve damage. Thus chronic pain after thoracic surgery should have an important neuropathic component. The present study investigated the prevalence of the neuropathic component in chronic pain after thoracic surgery. Furthermore, we looked for predictive factors for prevalence and intensity of chronic pain. We contacted 243 patients who underwent a video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) or thoracotomy in the period between January 2004 and September 2006 by mail. Patients retrospectively received a questionnaire with the Dutch version of the PainDETECT Questionnaire, a validated screening tool for neuropathic pain. Results were analyzed from 204 patients (144 thoracotomies, 60 VATS). The prevalence of chronic pain was 40% after thoracotomy and 47% after VATS. Definite chronic neuropathic pain was present in 23% of the patients with chronic pain, with an additional 30% having probable neuropathic pain. Greater probability of neuropathic pain (ie, a higher total score of the PainDETECT) correlated with more intense chronic pain. Predictive factors for chronic pain were younger age (P = .01), radiotherapy (P = .043), pleurectomy (P = .04) and more extensive surgery (P < .001). PERSPECTIVE: Up to half the chronic pain after thoracic surgery is not associated with a neuropathic component, which has not been reported to date. More extensive surgery and pleurectomy are predictive factors for chronic pain after thoracic surgery, suggesting a visceral component apart from nerve injury.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [202802]
- Electronic publications [100870]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [80020]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.