• Eva Huysmans, Lisa Goudman, Iris Coppieters, Wouter Van Bogaert, Maarten Moens, Ronald Buyl, Jo Nijs, Adriaan Louw, Tine Logghe, Koen Putman, and Kelly Ickmans.
• Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Physical Medicine and Physiotherapy, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: eva.huysmans@vub.be.
• Br J Anaesth. 2023 Sep 1; 131 (3): 572585572-585.

BackgroundPerioperative education should be improved to decrease unfavourable outcomes after lumbar surgery. This trial aimed to compare effectiveness in terms of pain, quality of life, pain cognition, surgical experience, healthcare use, work resumption, and cost-effectiveness of perioperative pain neuroscience education (PPNE) vs traditional biomedical education (perioperative biomedical education [PBE]) in people undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy.MethodsIn this multicentre RCT (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02630732), patients undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy in three Belgian hospitals were randomised to receive PPNE or PBE. Both groups received one preoperative and one postoperative one-to-one education session and a booklet (balanced interventions), with an essentially different content (PPNE: biopsychosocial; PBE: biomedical). Pain was the primary outcome (Visual Analogue Scales+quantitative sensory testing). Assessments were at 3 days, 6 weeks, and 6 and 12 months after surgery.ResultsBetween March 2016 and April 2020, participants were randomly assigned to PPNE (n=58) or PBE (n=62). At 12 months, PPNE did not lead to significantly better pain outcomes, but it did result in more favourable 36-item Short Form Health Survey physical component (additional increase: 46.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.16-79.73; medium effect), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (additional decrease: 3.15; 95% CI: 0.25-6.04; small effect), and Pain Catastrophising Scale (additional decrease: 6.18; 95% CI: 1.97-10.39; medium effect) scores. Females of the PPNE group showed higher probability for work resumption (95% vs 60% in the PBE group). PPNE was cost-effective compared with PBE (incremental costs: €-2732; incremental quality-adjusted life years: 0.012).ConclusionsPerioperative pain neuroscience education showed superior clinical and cost-effectiveness than perioperative biomedical education in people undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy.Clinical Trial RegistrationNCT02630732.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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