查看文章

Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is a common complication after many surgical procedures, including cardiac surgery. The prevalence of CPSP after cardiac surgery ranges from 9.5% to 56%. Most studies on CPSP after cardiac surgery are retrospective and long‐term prospective studies are scarce. The aim of this study was to follow CPSP and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) prospectively in a cohort of patients, emphasizing the prevalence from 12 months to 5 years.

A total of 534 patients (23% ≥75 years, 67% men) were consecutively included before surgery. Study‐specific questionnaires and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) were used to measure CPSP at baseline, 12 months and 5‐year follow‐up. Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36) was used to measure HRQOL.

Among 458 patients who were alive after 5 years, 82% responded (n = 373). The majority, 89.8% (335/373 …