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Collecting And Measuring Wound Exudate Biochemical Mediators In Surgical Wounds
04:58

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Published on: October 20, 2012

Surgery, pain, and immune function

M J Kremer1

  • 1Department of Adult Health Nursing, Rush University College of Nursing, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.

CRNA : the Clinical Forum for Nurse Anesthetists
|March 21, 2000
PubMed

Research findings have demonstrated that surgery negatively affects immune function. Pain also has deleterious effects on immune function. Most research in this area has been conducted on animals. Psychoneuroimmunology provides the framework for this article. Psychoneurological phenomena, such as stress, depression, and pain, can influence immune system functioning through neuroendocrine pathways. Biological and behavioral processes appear to be closely related and need to be jointly considered when planning and providing anesthesia care. The anesthesia planning process increasingly involves aggressive assessment and treatment of postoperative pain, which may benefit immune function.

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