The Clinical journal of pain
-
Some patients experience severe chronic pain after intramedullary spinal cord tumor (IMSCT) resection, but the underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate perioperative factors associated with chronic pain after IMSCT resection. ⋯ Decline in JOA score, intraoperative hypotension, and postoperative corticosteroids are independently associated with postsurgical chronic central pain. Intraoperative hypotension and the use of postoperative corticosteroids can be avoided or modified during perioperative management. As results from animal studies have indicated that the administration of corticosteroids may intensify chronic pain, further studies in larger cohorts are required to definitively determine the effect of corticosteroids on postsurgical central pain.
-
There is a need to predict chronic (Z3mo) postsurgical pain (CPSP). Acute (<7 d) pain is a predictor, that is, more severe pain is associated with higher CPSP risk. However, reported associations vary widely. ⋯ Overall, evidence for an association between acute and chronic pain is moderate at best. However, closer attention to pain measurement methods will clarify the relationships between acute pain and CPSP. We propose that future CPSP predictor studies assess both PAR and MEP acutely and also incorporate CPSP severity in their analyses.