• César Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, Paula Parás-Bravo, Diego Ferrer-Pargada, Ignacio Cancela-Cilleruelo, Jorge Rodríguez-Jiménez, Jo Nijs, Lars Arendt-Nielsen, and Manuel Herrero-Montes.
• Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), Madrid, Spain.
• Pain Pract. 2023 Jan 1; 23 (1): 233123-31.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between demographic, clinical, psychological, cognitive, and health-related variables and the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors exhibiting "de novo" post-COVID pain.MethodsSeventy-seven (n = 77) COVID-19 survivors with "de novo" post-COVID pain completed demographic (age, height, and weight), clinical (duration and intensity of the pain), psychological (depressive/anxiety levels and sleep quality), cognitive (catastrophizing and kinesiophobia levels), and health-related quality of life variables as well as the CSI. A multivariable correlation analysis was conducted to determine the association between variables, and a stepwise multiple linear regression model was performed to identify CSI predictors.ResultsPatients were assessed a mean of 6.0 (SD 0.8) months after hospital discharge. Twenty-six (33.7%) individuals showed indications of sensitization-associated symptoms (CSI score ≥40 points). The CSI score was positively associated with pain intensity (r: 0.371), anxiety (r: 0.784), depressive (r: 0.709), catastrophizing (r: 0.620), and kinesiophobia (r: 0.359) levels (all, p < 0.001). The stepwise regression analysis revealed that 60.2% of CSI was explained by anxiety levels and pain intensity.ConclusionThis study found that psychological and cognitive variables were associated with the CSI score in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors with "de novo" post-COVID pain. Anxiety levels and the intensity of pain symptoms were independently associated with CSI score suggesting a significant overlap with psychological construct. The "de novo" post-COVID pain association with CSI may indicate changes in the pain processing important for managing the pain.© 2022 World Institute of Pain.

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