Prevalence and Predictors of Chronic Postsurgical Pain After Primary Pediatric Scoliosis Surgery: A Tertiary Hospital...

Background and aim Chronic postoperative pain after pediatric scoliosis correction remains a clinically relevant concern despite advancements in perioperative analgesia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic pain, evaluate functional limitation, and identify demographic and perioperative predictors among pediatric patients undergoing scoliosis correction. Methodology This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital, National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA). All the pediatric patients who underwent scoliosis correction were included using non-probability purposive sampling. Data were extracted from surgical and anesthesia records from 2021 to 2025, with follow-up pain outcomes assessed at three, six, and 12 months for the past four years. All data were analyzed by SPSS version 27 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results Our study included 99 patients, of whom chronic pain was present in 22 (22.2%) patients at three months, 14 (14.1%) at six months, and eight (8.1%) at 12 months. Overall, 24 (24.2%) patients met criteria for chronic pain. Functional limitations were observed in 27 (27.3%) patients. Most of the patients (76.8%) didn't report or show any signs of current pain after the coinvestigators contacted their parents by phone, regardless of the time since surgery (whether it had been one year or four years). In multivariable analysis, increasing age was independently associated with lower chronic pain (B = -0.082, p = 0.016), while postoperative morphine infusion was associated with reduced chronic pain (B = -0.497, p = 0.042). Chronic pain and functional limitation were strongly associated with current pain medication use (B = 0.708, p = 0.002; B = 0.308, p = 0.006). Other demographic and perioperative variables were not significant predictors. Conclusion Chronic pain affects approximately one-quarter of pediatric scoliosis patients but decreases over time. Younger age and absence of postoperative morphine infusion were associated with higher chronic pain risk. Optimized postoperative pain management may reduce long-term pain burden.