Predictors of postoperative pain six months after breast surgery

Abstract

Breast cancer, with a high prevalence and survival rate, leads to long-term complications. A major sequel is acute or chronic postoperative pain, and we investigated the possible relationship with clinical and psychological variables. Patients undergoing breast surgery filled out the loneliness (ULS-8) and depression (HADS) questionnaires. Patients rated their pain intensity with the Numerical Rating Scale (0-10, NRS) two days, seven days, and six months after surgery. Of 124 patients, the mean age was 45.86 years old, and the pain scores on the second and seventh postoperative days were 5.33 and 3.57, respectively. Sixth-month pain was significantly correlated with the acute scores with a mean of 3.27; and in the multivariate analysis, it was significantly associated with preoperative pain (p-value = 0.007), self-reported loneliness (p-value = 0.010), and adjuvant radiotherapy (p-value = 0.004). In conclusion, loneliness may be a risk factor for postoperative pain in breast surgery.

Figure 1

CONSORT diagram of patients enrolled into the study, types of breast and axillary surgery distribution. Abbreviation: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS), Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

Figure 2

Bar diagram of the frequency of pain levels on the second day, seventh day, and sixth month after surgery (Mild: 0 to 3, moderate: 4 to 6, severe: 7 to 10).