• Guang Wang, Miao He, Xiao-Lin Ji, Xiu-Li Wang, and Yi Feng.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2022 Aug 1; 36 (8 Pt A): 2406-2411.

ObjectiveTo examine whether perioperative thermal quantitative sensory testing could be used to identify patients at high risk of chronic pain after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).DesignA single-center, prospective, observational study.SettingAt the Peking University People's Hospital.ParticipantsA total of 111 patients scheduled to undergo VATS were enrolled.InterventionsQuantitative sensory testing was conducted at the anterior intercostal incision prior to surgery and after chest tube removal.Measurements And Main ResultsThe patient's chronic pain was assessed at 3 months after surgery using a questionnaire. The incidence of chronic pain was 35 out of 107 evaluable patients (32.7%). Among the 35 patients with chronic pain, 26 had features characteristic of neuropathic pain (74.3%). Compared to the patients without chronic pain, subjects with chronic pain had a significantly greater perioperative change in cold pain threshold (CPT; p = 0.032), but not cold detection threshold, warm detection threshold, and hot pain threshold . In the multivariate regression, perioperative CPT change was associated with chronic pain after VATS (odds ratio = 1.043, p = 0.026).ConclusionsChronic pain after VATS is typically neuropathic. The change in perioperative CPT at the incision site may help to identify patients at higher risk of chronic pain after VATS.Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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