Prevalence and Risk Factors for Chronic Post-Surgical Pain Following Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery : The EVATHO Prospective Bicentric Cohort Study. (EVATHO)

Study of the Prevalence of Chronic Postoperative Pain After Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery: A Bicentric Cohort Study

Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) remains a common complication after thoracic surgery and may significantly impair patients' quality of life. Although the widespread adoption of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has reduced surgical trauma and improved postoperative recovery, a substantial proportion of patients still develop persistent pain.

The EVATHO study is a multicenter prospective observational cohort designed to determine the prevalence of CPSP three months after VATS and to identify perioperative factors associated with its development. Adult patients undergoing thoracic surgery by VATS at Montpellier and Nice University Hospitals will be prospectively enrolled.

Pain intensity, neuropathic pain characteristics, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and analgesic consumption will be assessed using validated questionnaires during the perioperative period and at 1 and 3 months after surgery. The results of this study may help identify patients at increased risk of CPSP and improve perioperative pain management strategies following thoracic surgery.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Neuropathic Pain; Chronic Post-surgical Pain; Thoracic Surgical Procedures; Postoperative Pain After Thoracic Surgery

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 400

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Benjamin Bourdois, MD; Phone Number: +33467335958; Email: b-bourdois@chu-montpellier.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sophie Bringuier, MD; Phone Number: +33467335958

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for pulmonary resection, pleural procedures, chest wall surgery, or lung biopsy at Montpellier and Nice University Hospitals.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for thoracic surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age <18 years
• Adults under legal protection or unable to provide informed non-opposition
• Patients unable to understand or complete the study questionnaires
• Patients not affiliated with a French health insurance scheme.
• Adults under legal protection, including judicial safeguard, guardianship, or curatorship.
• Participation in another clinical study involving an ongoing exclusion period.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of participants with chronic post-surgical pain	Chronic post-surgical pain defined as a Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain score greater than 3 at the 3-month postoperative follow-up.	3 months after surgery.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Postoperative pain at 1 month after VATS	Post-surgical pain defined as a Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain score greater than 3 at the 1-month postoperative follow-up.	1 month after thoracic surgery
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain score	Pain intensity measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), with scores ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain).	Preoperative assessment, postoperative day 1, postoperative day 2, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.
Cumulative postoperative opioid consumption.	Total opioid consumption during the postoperative period as morphine milligram equivalents	Postoperative day 1, postoperative day 2, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.
Douleur Neuropathie 4 (DN4) score	Neuropathic pain measured using the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire. Scores range from 0 to 10, with scores greater than or equal to 4 indicating neuropathic pain.	Preoperative assessment, postoperative day 1, postoperative day 2, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.
Hospitalier Anxiety and depression Scale (HADS) anxiety score	Anxiety measured using the hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A). Scores range from 0 to 21, with scores greater than or equal to 11 indicating clinically significant anxiety.	Preoperative assessment, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) depression score	Depression measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D). Scores range from 0 to 21, with scores greater than or equal to 11 indicating clinically significant depression.	Preoperative assessment, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) pain interference score	Pain interference with daily activities measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) interference subscale	1 month and 3 months after surgery.
Short Form-12 Physical component summary score	Physical health-related quality of life measured using the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score of the Short Form-12 (SF-12) questionnaire.	Preoperative assessment, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.
Short form-12 Mental Component Summary score	Mental health-related quality of life measured using the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score of the Short Form-12 (SF-12) questionnaire.	Preoperative assessment, 1 month and 3 months after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Montpellier

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 21, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 29, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 7, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 29, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Postoperative Complications; Pathologic Processes; Neuromuscular Diseases; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain, Postoperative; Neuralgia
• Other Study ID Numbers: RECHMPL 25_0555

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No