Scandinavian Journal of Pain最新文献

{"title":"Expression of inflammation-related proteins and use of analgesics before and after interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation - a secondary analysis.","authors":"Sara Hasson, Emmanuel Bäckryd, Thomas F Kallman, Huan-Ji Dong, Bijar Ghafouri","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2026-0021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Current pharmacological treatments of chronic pain are largely ineffective, one reason being that the pathophysiological mechanisms driving chronic pain are not yet elucidated. Emerging evidence, including human biomarker studies, suggests that neuroimmune activation and chronic low-grade inflammation are present. However, some patients with chronic pain regularly use analgesics, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and it is not clear how such medication might impact the low-grade systemic inflammation pattern of the individual patient.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This secondary analysis of partially published data was undertaken to explore the relationship between the concentrations of 71 pro- and anti-inflammatory plasma proteins and the use of various analgesic medications (including NSAIDs) in patients participating in interdisciplinary pain multimodal rehabilitation programs for chronic pain.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At baseline (n=27), 63 % of patients used paracetamol, 33 % used NSAIDs, 19 % used opioids, 19 % used antidepressants (duloxetine, amitriptyline or mirtazapine), 11 % used chlorzoxazone, 7 % used corticosteroids, and 0 % used gabapentinoids. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, we identified two subgroups of patients - a \"high inflammation\" and a \"low inflammation\" subgroup. The main finding was that the distribution of analgesics, including NSAIDs, between the two groups did not differ. However, the low number of subjects must be acknowledged, implying low power and the risk of false negative results.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Larger studies, e.g., focusing on NSAID users before and after treatment discontinuation, are needed to further ascertain the impact of specific medication on the systemic inflammation pattern of chronic pain patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148686354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acute pain management in adult patients in the emergency department 10 years after implementation of a nurse-initiated pain-management protocol, a prospective observational study.","authors":"Danique K Veenvliet, Milan L Ridderikhof","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0010","DOIUrl":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although acute pain is one of the most common complaints in the emergency department (ED), it is often undertreated. Several interventions, such as the implementation of an acute pain protocol, have been evaluated in order to optimize pain management, with variable results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of a nurse-initiated pain-management protocol 10 years after implementation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a prospective, observational study recruiting all consecutive adult patients with acute pain in the ED of a Level-1 trauma center during a period of 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the percentage of the composite endpoint 'pain awareness'. The secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction; administration of analgesics; NRS scores and waiting time until receiving analgesics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three hundred and 23 patients were included in this study. The percentage of pain awareness was 69 %. In 41.5 % of patients, analgesics were administered and in 55.1 %, an NRS-score was documented. Regarding patient satisfaction, no significant correlation was observed between waiting time until receiving analgesics and satisfaction.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The percentage of pain awareness was 69 % with an existing pain protocol in place. Overall, patient satisfaction was positive in the majority of the patients. Further research into the types of analgesics that are more likely to optimize the protocol is necessary.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148702445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The empty can scratch test (ECST) for suspected anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) - a pilot study.","authors":"Bram Bakermans, Tom Ten Have, Marc R M Scheltinga, Willem A R Zwaans, Rudi M H Roumen","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2026-0019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Chronic abdominal wall pain may be caused by Anterior Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (ACNES). The diagnostic cornerstone is a characteristic physical examination including a localized area of altered skin sensation covering a point of maximum pain. Recently, the Scratch Collapse Test (SCT) emerged as a sensitive noninvasive test for ACNES. However, this test relies on manual force application, which introduces potential examiner bias and raises concerns regarding its objectivity. Therefore, we modified the Empty Can Test, used to detect rotator cuff injuries, into the Empty Can Scratch Test (ECST). During this test, patients hold weights, thereby eliminating any manual force application. We hypothesized that this more objective ECST would elicit similar results to the SCT through a comparable spinal inhibitory reflex mediated by the common efferent suprascapular nerve. If so, the ECST would have diagnostic potential in suspected ACNES.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This single-center, prospective, cross-sectional cohort study, conducted between April and August 2022 at the outpatient department of SolviMáx, Centre of Expertise for Complex Abdominal Wall Pathology, included adult participants with suspected unilateral ACNES who underwent both the SCT and ECST.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twenty participants were analyzed (median age 50 years [IQR 38.5-57.5], 75 % women). The SCT was positive in 19 patients (95 %), but the ECST was positive in only 10 patients (50 %). There was no level of agreement between both tests (Cohen's Kappa=0.100, p=0.305).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The ECST does not have a diagnostic role in ACNES. The high diagnostic yield of a SCT in ACNES is confirmed.</p><p><strong>Ethical committee number: </strong>METC N22.023.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148664600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation for immigrants with chronic pain who need language interpretation - a one-year follow-up.","authors":"Uhlin Karin, Löfgren Monika, Bäärnhielm Sofie, Borg Kristian, Stålnacke Britt-Marie","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0016","DOIUrl":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Chronic pain is a major health problem and is more common among women than men. Interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programmes (IPR) are effective in reducing pain and restoring function for patients with chronic pain. However, in Sweden, immigrants who do not speak Swedish are commonly not selected for participation in IPR. There is thus a knowledge gap regarding whether IPR has positive effects for immigrants with chronic pain and inadequate Swedish language skills. The aim of this study was to investigate outcomes in patients with chronic pain and inadequate Swedish language skills at one-year follow-up after participation in an IPR with language interpreters, both on the whole group level and separately for women and men, and in comparison with a reference group of patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Design: prospective multi-centre cohort study. Patients: 74 patients (60 women and 14 men). Pain intensity, anxiety and depression, health-related quality of life, fear of movement and the number of doctor visits due to pain were evaluated at baseline, at treatment conclusion (except for doctor visits) and one year after the programme. Patients were compared with a reference group comprising Swedish-speaking patients in a standard interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme (135 patients (122 women and 13 men)).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At one-year follow-up, the patients showed significant improvements in pain intensity, depression, and fear of movement, and when subgrouping, the female patients showed significant improvements in the same variables: pain intensity (p=0.002), depression (p=0.015), and fear of movement (p=0.007). Anxiety was significantly deteriorated, both for the whole group and for the female patients (p=0.011). The men did not improve, but low numbers preclude statistics or conclusions. On the whole group level, there was also a significantly reduced number of doctor visits due to pain (p<0.001) at one-year follow-up. Compared to those in the reference group, the patients rated themselves significantly poorer before the programme for the variables measured over time (p=/<0.004). All variables improved significantly for the patients in the reference group at one-year follow-up.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients with chronic pain and inadequate language skills in the Swedish language seem to benefit from participating in an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme with language interpreters. The result could be of value for the further development of such rehabilitation programmes, but further studies are needed regarding men´s needs in and after a rehabilitation programme. Ethical committee number (IRB#/REC#): Regional ethics review board Stockholm, ref: 2016/858-31; completion 2016/2059-32 and 2020/06982.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148580523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multimodal deep learning fusion for automatic pain detection in cancer patients.","authors":"Marco Cascella, Fabio Mariani, Daniela Barberio, Anna Crispo, Alessandro Ottaiano, Sabrina Bimonte, Gianluigi Franci, Francesco Sabbatino, Ornella Piazza, Francesco Cutugno","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2026-0015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Since pain is a multidimensional and subjective experience, pain assessment remains challenging. With advances in artificial intelligence (AI), automatic pain assessment (APA) systems offer a valuable opportunity for objective pain evaluation. However, most approaches focus on a single modality. In this proof-of-concept study, exploring multimodal fusion strategies in a controlled experimental setting, we present a deep learning framework for multimodal fusion that combines facial, acoustic, and textual information to improve APA in cancer patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multimodal dataset was created from video-recorded interviews with oncologic patients. In Phase I, audio, video, and transcripts were segmented at the sentence level and temporally aligned using the Eudico Linguistic Annotator (ELAN) to ensure frame-level correspondence across modalities. In Phase II, modality-specific features were extracted: Facial Action Units from OpenFace, acoustic descriptors (MFCCs, chroma, spectral contrast, and Mel-spectrogram) from a dedicated speech-processing pipeline, and sentence-level textual embeddings from ITA-BERT. During training, the most effective analytical strategy was chosen through knowledge transfer approaches. The ELAN-assisted annotation pipeline streamlined expert labeling. Two architectures were implemented and compared: bimodal autoencoder fusion models and a transformer-based model with pairwise cross-modal attention. These models were trained and evaluated using subject-independent and stratified 5-fold cross-validation. To address the lack of independence between segments, a strictly subject-independent cross-validation strategy was adopted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Knowledge transfer using pretrained large-scale models outperformed traditional feature-based approaches and was applied to multimodal pain detection. Multimodal models achieved performance comparable to the strongest unimodal modality (text), while showing improved balance across modalities, suggesting potential complementary effects. Both multimodal architectures demonstrated high accuracy in distinguishing between pain and non-pain classes. The bimodal autoencoder achieved stable results across folds, with a mean accuracy of about 80 % and balanced error distribution. The pairwise transformer with cross-modal attention achieved similar performance, with smooth training and validation loss curves. No evident divergence between training and validation loss curves was observed across folds, suggesting stable behavior within the cross-validation setting. However, subject-level overfitting cannot be excluded given the limited sample size.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Multimodal fusion enhances system robustness by integrating complementary signals. Despite limitations and the need for improvement, multimodal deep learning strategies can support the detection of observable pain-related expressions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148580531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exercise prescription and monitoring of heart rate parameters in people with chronic pain: a systematic review.","authors":"Katie Pellow, Jaclyn Harrison, Brent A Harper","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2026-0018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Chronic pain affects over 50 million adults in the United States and is associated with autonomic nervous system dysfunction assessed through measurements of heart rate variability (HRV). While exercise has been shown to improve HRV in healthy individuals, the effects of different exercise protocols in chronic pain populations on HRV remain underexplored.</p><p><strong>Content: </strong>The purpose of this systematic review investigated how exercise interventions influence HRV and pain in individuals with chronic pain. A literature search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines across four electronic databases. Six randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised for methodological quality. Studies were included if they involved an exercise intervention and reported HRV. If pain was assessed, it was included as an outcome measure.</p><p><strong>Summary and outlook: </strong>Six randomized controlled trials were identified with 283 participants. All studies measured HRV, while four reported pain outcomes. Five studies reported significant improvements in HRV following exercise interventions (p <0.05), while findings related to pain outcomes were mixed. Methodological reporting of HRV procedures was generally insufficient. Due to heterogeneity across studies, it remains unclear whether exercise improves pain or HRV sufficiently. While pain outcomes are commonly reported, HRV is the only measure specific to autonomic function, and its reliability as a clinical metric in individuals with chronic pain remains uncertain. Limited research across diverse chronic conditions, sexes, and methodological approaches restricts generalizability. This highlights the need for greater methodological rigor and broader inclusion to strengthen the use of HRV metrics in chronic pain populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148563394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Failed epidural after upper abdominal laparotomy in chronic pain patients with opioid use - a retrospective case control study.","authors":"Johnny Dohn Holmgren Andersen, Iryna Khridina, Danja Lykke Kristensen, Christine Puck Holler, Michael Rowbotham, Eske Kvanner Aasvang","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2026-0017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Opioid therapy for chronic pain complicates post-operative pain management. This study evaluated the incidence of failed epidural analgesia, defined as epidural catheter replacement, in opioid-treated chronic pain patients vs. pain-free opioid-naïve controls undergoing elective upper laparotomy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective case-control cohort study of adult patients undergoing elective upper laparotomy with epidural anesthesia (EA) for postoperative pain management. The intervention group comprised chronic pain patients, defined as pain lasting >3 months with stable daily opioid use. Controls were pain-free opioid-naïve patients. Patients with known illegal opioid use were excluded. A sample size of 75 chronic opioid-treated pain patients and 75 pain-free patients would allow for detection of a 15 % between group difference in epidural catheter replacement at a 0.05 significance level.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy-five chronic pain patients and 75 pain-free opioid-naïve controls were included. Chronic pain patients were more often female, had more co-morbidities, and more frequently underwent pancreatic resections; liver resections were more common among controls. The median preoperative daily oral morphine equivalent use among chronic pain patients was 45 mg (IQR, 20-80). Epidural analgesia failure occurred four times more often in chronic pain patients compared with controls (41.3 % vs. 10.7 %; p<0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Chronic preoperative opioid use for pain significantly increased the rate of postoperative epidural catheter replacement. The findings were not explained by external preoperative, technical or surgical factors, supporting further pathophysiological investigations to tailor mechanism based interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148550954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with high-impact chronic pain - guideline adherence in five specialized multidisciplinary pain centers in Denmark.","authors":"Rune Frederiksen, Henrik Bjarke Vaegter, Mads U Werner","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0014","DOIUrl":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The audit explores adherence to the Danish Health Authorities' recommendations of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment domains in five tertiary multidisciplinary pain centers in three of five regions in Denmark.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a systematic clinical audit of medical records from 100 patients with high-impact chronic pain (HICP), sampling 20 records at each center. A structured checklist, based on national guidelines, examined the documentation prevalence across bio-psycho-social issues, pain mechanism identification, and treatment, including non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions, and discharge planning. Guideline adherence and inter-center variations were examined. Data are presented as median (IQR).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The patient age was 51 (42-59) years, and 63 % were females. The median treatment duration was 35 (17-50) weeks, with 14 (6-23) healthcare contacts involving 3.1 (2.7-4.0) healthcare professions per patient. Documentation of the target issues in the medical records was as follows: physical examination 37 % (1-17/center), psychological factors 65 % (5-20/center), socio-economic factors 98 % (19-20/center), pain mechanisms 66 % (3-17/center), non-pharmacological treatments 89 % (14-20/center), group treatment 57 % (3-17/center), analgesic consumption at referral 96 % and at discharge 83 %, add-on pharmacological treatments 69 % (8-18/center), opioid use at referral 38 % (4-11/center), and weaning off during treatment 18 % (2-6/center), non-evidence-based pharmacological treatments 21 % (0-12/center), prospective treatment plans in discharge reports 14 % (2-4/center), and overall assessment of patients' satisfaction with treatment outcomes 40 % (3-11/center).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>While socio-economic and psychological assessments, and multidisciplinary, non-pharmacological treatments seemed adequately documented, a wide inter-center variation in the documentation of physical examination, diagnostic, pharmacological, and discharge procedures was observed. Standardizing documentation practices is essential to improve consistency and quality of care in Danish multidisciplinary pain centers.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148363208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multimodal investigation of neuropathic pain mechanisms in focal spinal lesions.","authors":"Paulina S Scheuren, Gergely David, John L K Kramer, Catherine R Jutzeler, Markus Hupp, Patrick Freund, Walter Magerl, Armin Curt, Michèle Hubli, Jan Rosner","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2025-0065","DOIUrl":"10.1515/sjpain-2025-0065","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Focal spinal cord lesions occur across a variety of neurological diseases including non-traumatic cervical myelopathies which can lead to neuropathic pain. Currently, the degree to which signs and symptoms of neuropathic pain correlate with functional impairments and/or anatomical deficits remains unclear. This study aimed to identify structural and functional determinants associated with neuropathic pain in individuals with focal spinal lesions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Individuals fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of neuropathic pain were identified among individuals with cervical myelopathy presenting with focal spinal lesions. Lesion volume and the extent of structural damage affecting the spinothalamic tract, dorsal columns, dorsal horn, and ventral horn were evaluated with tract-specific MRI of the cervical spinal cord. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) (i.e., thermal/mechanical thresholds) was performed at the most affected skin area. Additionally, contact heat-evoked potentials (CHEPs) were acquired following stimulation at the most affected skin area to objectively assess the functional integrity of the spinothalamic tract.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>MRI-derived structural damage was similar for individuals with (n=8) and without (n=8) neuropathic pain in all regions of interest (p>0.05). Mechanical hyperalgesia upon QST was observed in both groups. However, functional preservation of the spinothalamic system, measured by CHEPs, was present in 87 % of individuals with neuropathic pain, compared to 38 % of pain-free individuals (p=0.039).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These observations suggest that segmental hyperexcitability resulting from structural spinal cord damage, in combination with residual sparing of spinothalamic afferents, may represent a key pathophysiological constellation contributing to central neuropathic pain following focal spinal lesions.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148284633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pain catastrophizing is associated with higher pain intensity following carpal tunnel release: a prospective observational study.","authors":"Rebecca Helene Sletten, Unni Olsen, Arild Aamodt, Maren Falch Lindberg","doi":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0011","DOIUrl":"10.1515/sjpain-2026-0011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to examine preoperative sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological factors associated with acute worst pain intensity following open carpal tunnel release (CTR).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective observational study included 83 patients between 18 and 79 years undergoing primary outpatient CTR. All patients filled in consent forms and a questionnaire that assessed demographics, comorbidities, pain and function, sleep quality and pain catastrophizing. The primary outcome was worst pain intensity during the first three postoperative days. Linear regression analyses were done to estimate associations between age, sex, education, comorbidity, pain catastrophizing and sleep quality, and worst postoperative pain intensity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The patients mean age was 60 years and most were women (64 %). Patients rated their worst preoperative pain to 4.5 on a scale from 0 to 10, and worst pain intensity of 5.3 during the first three postoperative days. Postoperatively, 47 % of the patients experienced moderate pain and 32, 5 % reported severe pain in the three first days. In the univariable analyses, poorer sleep quality, more pain catastrophizing, more PRWHE hand pain and disability, and higher preoperative pain were associated with more severe postoperative pain. In the multivariable analysis, only higher level of pain catastrophizing remained associated with more severe postoperative pain.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Higher preoperative pain catastrophizing was independently associated with higher postoperative pain intensity after CTR. This factor may be useful as part of preoperative screening to identify patients at higher risk for more severe postoperative pain. REC approval # 2018/1562.</p>","PeriodicalId":47407,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Pain","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148139338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}