Risk factors for chronic thoracic pain after cardiac surgery via sternotomy

Objective: This study examines the influence of patient demographics and peri- and postoperative ( 0) associated with the primary surgery. Results: One year after surgery, 42 (35%) of the 120 responding patients reported chronic thoracic pain. Multivariate regression analysis of patient characteristics revealed that nonelective surgery, re- sternotomy, severe pain (numeric rating scale 4) on the third postoperative day, and female gender were all independent predictors of chronic thoracic pain. In addition, the chronic sufferers reported more sleep disturbances and more frequent use of analgesics than their cohorts. Conclusions: We have identified a number of factors correlated with persistent thoracic pain following cardiac surgery with sternotomy. Awareness of these predictors may be useful for further research concerning both the prevention and treatment of chronic thoracic pain, thereby potentially ameliorating the postoperative quality of life of a significant proportion of patients. Meanwhile, chronic thoracic pain should be discussed preoperatively with patients at risk so that they are truly informed about possible consequences of the surgery. # 2011 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.