Chronic pain after breast surgery: incidence, associated factors, and impact on quality of life, an observational prospective study

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain after breast surgery (CPBS) has a disabling impact on postoperative health status. Mainly because of the lack of a clear definition, inconsistency does exist in the literature concerning both the actual incidence and the risk factors associated to CPBS. The aim of this prospective, observational study is to describe the incidence of and risk factors for CPBS, according to the definition provided by the IASP taskforce. The impact of CPBS on patients’ function and quality of life is also described. METHODS: Women aged 18+ undergoing oncological or reconstructive breast surgery from Jan until Apr 2018 at the Breast Unit of Careggi Hospital (Florence, Italy) were prospectively observed. Postoperative pain was measured at 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 3 months (CPBS) after surgery. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors were compared in CPBS and No-CPBS groups through multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among the 307 patients considered in this study, the incidence of CPBS was 28% [95% CI 23.1–33.4%]. Results from the logistic regression analysis suggest that axillary surgery (OR [95% CI], 2.99 [1.13–7.87], p = 0.03), preoperative use of pain medications (OR [95% CI], 2.04 [1.20–3.46], p = 0.01), and higher dynamic NRS values at 6 h postoperatively (OR [95% CI], 1.28 [1.05–1.55], p = 0.01) were all independent predictors for CPBS. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain after breast surgery is a frequent complication. In our cohort, long-term use of analgesics for pre-existing chronic pain, axillary surgery, and higher dynamic NRS values at 6 h postoperatively were all factors associated with increased risk of developing CPBS. The possibility to early detect persistent pain, particularly in those patients at high risk for CPBS, might help physicians to more effectively prevent pain chronicisation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT04309929. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13741-021-00176-6.