Journal of cardiovascular medicine
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J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) · Nov 2015
Multicenter StudyA retrospective multicenter study on long-term prevalence of chronic pain after cardiac surgery.
There are limited data on sternotomy as a cause of chronic postsurgical pain, mainly restricted to 1 year after surgery. ⋯ Results form this large, retrospective, multicenter survey indicated that one out of five patients still complain pain at 3 years after cardiac surgery; persistence of pain was more common in the older patients. The approach to management of chronic pain by cardiologists and cardiac surgeons should be improved.