Chronic pain after lung resection: risk factors, neuropathic pain, and quality of life

Abstract Background Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) can occur frequently after thoracic surgery. This retrospective study aimed to determine CPSP prevalence, risk factors, neuropathic pain (NP) occurrence and its impact on quality of life. Methods Two hundred patients who underwent lung resection via mini-thoracotomy or thoracoscopy between January 2017 and December 2017 were assessed 4-12 months post-operatively via phone interview for chronic pain by a 0–10 Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), for NP using DN4 test, and for quality of life using a SF-36 Health Survey (Italian version). Results CPSP incidence was 35% (n= 70/200, 95% CI 41-28%) of which 31.5% (n=22/70, CI 41-21%) with NP. Only 10% of CPSP patients reported severe chronic pain. According to univariate analysis, CPSP was associated to moderate and severe acute post-operative pain (p Conclusion Over 1 out of 3 patients underwent lung resection could develop CPSP, frequently showing neuropathic component. Female gender reported a higher CPSP and NP incidence. Moderate-severe acute postoperative pain occurrence and open surgery seem to be independent risk factors for CPSP. Chronic pain and NP have a negative impact on quality of life, decreasing the SF-36 scores of all domains.