Catastrophizing: a predictive factor for postoperative pain

Abstract Background Postsurgical pain is a major cause of delayed recovery and discharge after surgery. A significant proportion of patients develop chronic postsurgical pain, which affects their quality of life. Cognitive and psychological factors are reported to play a significant role in the seve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of surgery 2011, Vol.201 (1), p.122-131
Main Authors: Khan, Reenam S, Ahmed, Kamran, M.R.C.S, Blakeway, Elizabeth, M.A., M.B.B.S, Skapinakis, Petros, M.P.H., Ph.D, Nihoyannopoulos, Leo, B.Sc, Macleod, Kenneth, F.R.C.A, Sevdalis, Nick, M.S., Ph.D, Ashrafian, Hutan, B.Sc., M.R.C.S, Platt, Michael, F.R.C.A., F.F.P., M.R.C.A, Darzi, Ara, F.R.C.S., F.A.C.S., K.B.E, Athanasiou, Thanos, Ph.D., F.E.T.C.S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Analgesia
Anxiety
Arthritis
Back pain
Behavior modification
Biological and medical sciences
Catastrophization - psychology
Catastrophizing
Chronic pain
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
Coping
General aspects
Humans
Incidence
Joint surgery
Lists
Medical sciences
Pain
Pain Measurement
Pain perception
Pain, Postoperative - diagnosis
Pain, Postoperative - psychology
Pain, Postoperative - therapy
Patient satisfaction
Patients
Postoperative period
Psychological factors
Quality of Life
Risk Factors
Studies
Surgery
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Postsurgical pain is a major cause of delayed recovery and discharge after surgery. A significant proportion of patients develop chronic postsurgical pain, which affects their quality of life. Cognitive and psychological factors are reported to play a significant role in the severity of reported postsurgical pain. High levels of catastrophizing are associated with a heightened pain experience and appear to contribute to the development of chronic pain. This article describes the concept of pain catastrophizing, its association with postsurgical pain, and its potential role in the management of postsurgical pain and postsurgical quality of life. Methods Data for this review were identified from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO. Reference lists of selected articles were cross-searched for additional literature. Results High catastrophizing levels were found to be associated with increased pain severity, increased incidence of development of chronic pain, and poorer quality of life after surgery. There was no consensus on the relation between catastrophizing and analgesia consumption. Conclusions Identifying and reducing catastrophizing levels can help to optimize pain management in surgical patients.
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2010.02.007