Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 May:41:162-173.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2017.03.061. Epub 2017 Mar 27.

Does preoperative depression predict post-operative surgical pain: A systematic review

Anali Dadgostar  1 , Mark Bigder  2 , Nahid Punjani  2 , Svjetlana Lozo  2 , Vickramjit Chahal  2 , Alexander Kavanagh  2
Affiliations
Free article

Does preoperative depression predict post-operative surgical pain: A systematic review

Anali Dadgostar et al. Int J Surg. 2017 May.
Free article

Abstract

Background: As surgical procedures have been developed and refined, determining which factors predict rapid and successful surgical outcomes has become a priority. Significant psychosocial influences on surgical outcomes have been found with numerous procedures. The objective of this study is to perform a systematic review of randomized-control trials and observational studies to examine the relationships between pre-operative depression and post-operative (<6 weeks) pain outcomes.

Materials and methods: Pubmed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for studies published from January 1, 2006 and August 31, 2016. Two independent reviewers assessed the eligibility of each report based on predefined inclusion criteria (study design, measure of pre-operative depression, and post-operative pain). Participants included adult patients undergoing surgical procedures diagnosed with depression pre-operatively. Patients were assessed for post-operative pain via pain scales and use of post-operative pain medications. Data was summarized qualitatively due to limitations of comparability and transformation. Significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the included studies was identified.

Results: Of 1091 abstracts reviewed, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. Due to the significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity, a meta-analysis was not performed. 8 studies (comprising a total of 1314 patients) reported a statistically significant effect of pre-operative depression on post-operative pain. 10 studies encompassing a total 1226 patients failed to demonstrate a statistically significant effect of depression on postoperative pain.

Conclusion: The analysis of results was limited to a systematic review and qualitative analysis of the eligible studies. Based on this systematic review we identified 8 studies reporting a statistically significant effect of pre-operative depression on post-operative pain and 10 studies reporting no statistically significant effect of pre-operative depression on post-operative pain. Therefore, the quality of presented data is poor and makes it challenging to answer further questions. Large epidemiologic studies in this field are needed to provide further evidence.

Keywords: Depression; Outcomes; Pain; Surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types