AIRR - ANZCA Institutional Research Repository
Skip navigation
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11055/633
Title: The cold pressor test as a predictor of prolonged postoperative pain, a prospective cohort study
Authors: MacLachlan, C
Shipton, EA
Wells, E
Keywords: cold pressor test
pain
postoperative
prolonged
Issue Date: 2016
Abstract: Introduction Presently, it is difficult to predict which patients are at increased risk of ongoing pain problems postoperatively. This study followed a group of patients from the week before their operation until 3 months after it, to identify potential risk variables. Methods Fifty-four patients undergoing moderate-major gynaecological surgery at Christchurch Women’s Hospital were recruited and assessed preoperatively over an 11-week period. At this initial assessment, participants were subjected to a cold pressor test (CPT). Telephonic follow-up was conducted at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively, to determine pain status. Information regarding the type of operation and surgical approach was collected from hospital records. Results Pain threshold (time taken to report the onset of pain), as measured by the CPT, was significantly predictive of prolonged pain outcomes (area under the curve = 0.80, 95 % CI 0.66, 0.95). Pain tolerance (total time taken to end the CPT voluntarily) was similarly predictive but non-significant (area under the curve = 0.69, 95 % CI 0.47, 0.90). Conclusion The preoperative cold pressor test shows some promise for predicting ongoing postoperative pain. However, more research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings in larger samples and how they could be incorporated into clinical practice.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11055/633
ISSN: 2193-8237
Appears in Collections:Scholarly and Clinical

Show full item record

Page view(s)

22
checked on Mar 28, 2024

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.