The Effect Of Multimodal Analgesia On Chronic Pain

This prospective study analyzed surgical thoracotomy patients treated with analgesic drugs with pain levels equal to or higher than four on the Douleur Neuropathique scale. The screening test for neuropathic pain is the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4). Postoperative 3rd-month DN4 questionnaires are used to predict persistent postoperative neuropathic pain. Patients were separated into two groups with those who developed chronic pain and those who did not on the 3rd-month of post-operation. Demographical characteristics and clinical findings regarding the situation of post-operation 3rd-month pain include but are not limited to; gender, body mass index (BMI), preoperative and postoperative clinical examination status (EUROSCORE), changes in the average VAS scores during hospitalization, neuropathic pain scores, duration of chest drains, duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, cross-clamp time, time under anesthesia, duration of stay in the ICU (hours), duration of pain after being discharged (days), additional drug requests by the patient, and any possible complications that arise. In addition, the presence and distribution of somatic (throbbing, tingling, spasm, tautening, stabbing, scouring), neuropathic (electric shock, burning, numbness, prickling, loss of sense), as well as other symptoms such as allodynia and hyperalgesia experienced by chronic patients three months post-operation were also analyzed and compared non-chronic patients.