• G P Kurita, C A de Mattos Pimenta, P E Braga, L Frich, M M Jørgensen, P R Nielsen, J Højsted, and P Sjøgren.
• School of Nursing, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. geana@rh.regionh.dk
• Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2012 Nov 1; 56 (10): 1257-66.

BackgroundThe paucity of studies regarding cognitive function in patients with chronic pain, and growing evidence regarding the cognitive effects of pain and opioids on cognitive function prompted us to assess cognition via neuropsychological measurement in patients with chronic non-cancer pain treated with opioids.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 49 patients were assessed by Continuous Reaction Time, Finger Tapping, Digit Span, Trail Making Test-B and Mini-mental State Examination tests. Linear regressions were applied.ResultsPatients scored poorly in the Trail Making Test-B (mean = 107.6 s, SD = 61.0, cut-off = 91 s); and adequately on all other tests. Several associations among independent variables and cognitive tests were observed. In the multiple regression analyses, the variables associated with statistically significant poor cognitive performance were female sex, higher age, lower annual income, lower schooling, anxiety, depression, tiredness, lower opioid dose, and more than 5 h of sleep the night before assessment (P < 0.05).ConclusionsPatients with chronic pain may have cognitive dysfunction related to some reversible factors, which can be optimized by therapeutic interventions.© 2012 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica © 2012 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.

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