British journal of anaesthesia
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Editorial Comment
Towards better predictive models of chronic post-surgical pain: fitting to the dynamic nature of the pain itself.
Chronic post-surgical pain predictive scores exist, but none has yet demonstrated an impact on patient care. Van Driel and colleagues offer an additional perspective on early postoperative detection of patient at risk of chronic post-surgical pain to enable early interventions in prevention and treatment. The authors derived and validated a model based on four easily obtainable predictors that could help clinicians assess and treat patients at risk. Additional work is needed to prove reliability and clinical benefit of chronic post-surgical pain prediction and intervention.
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Early identification of patients at risk of developing chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is an essential step in reducing pain chronification in postsurgical patients. We aimed to develop and validate a prognostic model for the early prediction of CPSP including pain characteristics indicating altered pain processing within 2 weeks after surgery. ⋯ As only four easily obtainable predictors are necessary for reliable CPSP prediction, the models are useful for the clinician to be alerted to further assess and treat individual patients at risk. Identification of the presence of painful cold within 2 weeks after surgery as a strong predictor supports altered pain processing as an important contributor to CPSP development.
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