Relative frequency of chronic postoperative pain in patients operated for chronic otitis media

Chronic postoperative pain may lead to physical disability and psychosocial distress. In this longitudinal observational study, for the first time we evaluated the relative frequency of chronic postoperative pain in patients operated for chronic otitis media (COM) at two university hospitals. Patients were questioned about pain at the site of the surgical incision 3-6 months after the operation, and again 3 months after the first visit. Pain intensity was quantified by visual analogue scale (VAS). T test, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used for analyzing data and multivariate analysis. In 155 patients (42 male, 113 female, mean age: 38.57 ± 10.66 years), chronic postoperative pain was observed in 50 cases (32.3 %). A significant decrease in the average score of VAS was observed from 5.18 to 2.64 within 3 months (P = 0.0001). Statistically significant correlation was observed between chronic postoperative pain and age, sex, acute postoperative pain and history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome or migraine, but after multivariate analysis, only the age group and severe acute post-operation pain were effective on incidence of chronic post-operative pain. In conclusion, surgery for COM is followed by chronic pain in about 32 % of patients, and some risk factors for the development of chronic postoperative pain after this surgery exist, including age and severe acute post-operation pain.