Prevalence and intensity of persistent post-surgical pain following breast cancer surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Li Wang, Jared C Cohen, Niveditha Devasenapathy, Brian Y Hong, Sasha Kheyson, Daniel Lu, Yvgeniy Oparin, Sean A Kennedy, Beatriz Romerosa, Nikita Arora, Henry Y Kwon, Kate Jackson, Manya Prasad, Dulitha Jayasekera, Allen Li, Giuliana Guarna, Shane Natalwalla, Rachel J Couban, Susan Reid, James S Khan, Michael McGillion, Jason W Busse, Li Wang, Jared C Cohen, Niveditha Devasenapathy, Brian Y Hong, Sasha Kheyson, Daniel Lu, Yvgeniy Oparin, Sean A Kennedy, Beatriz Romerosa, Nikita Arora, Henry Y Kwon, Kate Jackson, Manya Prasad, Dulitha Jayasekera, Allen Li, Giuliana Guarna, Shane Natalwalla, Rachel J Couban, Susan Reid, James S Khan, Michael McGillion, Jason W Busse
Abstract
Background: The prevalence and intensity of persistent post-surgical pain (PPSP) after breast cancer surgery are uncertain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to further elucidate this issue.
Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, from inception to November 2018, for observational studies reporting persistent pain (≥3 months) after breast cancer surgery. We used random-effects meta-analysis and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations approach to rate quality of evidence.
Results: We included 187 observational studies with 297 612 breast cancer patients. The prevalence of PPSP ranged from 2% to 78%, median 37% (inter-quartile range: 22-48%); the pooled prevalence was 35% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32-39%). The pooled pain intensity was 3.9 cm on a 10 cm visual analogue scale (95% CI: 3.6-4.2 cm). Moderate-quality evidence supported the subgroup effects of PPSP prevalence for localized pain vs any pain (29% vs 44%), moderate or greater vs any pain (26% vs 44%), clinician-assessed vs patient-reported pain (23% vs 36%), and whether patients underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy vs axillary lymph node dissection (26% vs 43%). The adjusted analysis found that the prevalence of patient-reported PPSP (any severity/location) was 46% (95% CI: 36-56%), and the prevalence of patient-reported moderate-to-severe PPSP at any location was 27% (95% CI: 10-43%).
Conclusions: Moderate-quality evidence suggests that almost half of all women undergoing breast cancer surgery develop persistent post-surgical pain, and about one in four develop moderate-to-severe persistent post-surgical pain; the higher prevalence was associated with axillary lymph node dissection. Future studies should explore whether nerve sparing for axillary procedures reduces persistent post-surgical pain after breast cancer surgery.
Keywords: breast cancer; chronic postoperative pain; intensity; meta-analysis; persistent post-surgical pain; prevalence; systematic review.
Copyright © 2020 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Source: PubMed