Severe acute postoperative pain is a consistent risk factor for chronic postoperative pain, suggesting that effective acute pain management may reduce the risk of chronic pain development.
Supports trials of optimized acute pain management; leaves open whether this prevents chronic postoperative pain.
Chronic postoperative pain is a major clinical problem. Several risk factors, including younger age, female gender, psychological, and genetic factors, have been identified. Surgery itself is the most important risk factor. Preoperative pain and severe acute postoperative pain are also very consistent risk factors for the development of chronic postoperative pain. Theoretically, a reduction of postoperative pain should reduce the risk of developing chronic postoperative pain. The present article will summarize the epidemiology of chronic pain after various surgical procedures. The emphasis will be on the relation between acute postoperative pain and chronic postoperative pain. Preventive measures will be discussed.
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Nikolajsen et al. (2009) studied this question.
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