• M Gabrielle Pagé, Jennifer Stinson, Fiona Campbell, Lisa Isaac, and Joel Katz.
• Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
• J Pain Res. 2012 Jan 1; 5: 547-58.

BackgroundPost-surgical pain is prevalent in children, yet is significantly understudied. The goals of this study were to examine gender differences in pain outcomes and pain-related psychological constructs postoperatively and to identify pain-related psychological correlates of acute post-surgical pain (APSP) and predictors of functional disability 2 weeks after hospital discharge.MethodsEighty-three children aged 8-18 (mean 13.8 ± 2.4) years who underwent major orthopedic or general surgery completed pain and pain-related psychological measures 48-72 hours and 2 weeks after surgery.ResultsGirls reported higher levels of acute postoperative anxiety and pain unpleasantness compared with boys. In addition, pain anxiety was significantly associated with APSP intensity and functional disability 2 weeks after discharge, whereas pain catastrophizing was associated with APSP unpleasantness.ConclusionThese results highlight the important role played by pain-related psychological factors in the experience of pediatric APSP by children and adolescents.

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