[Neuropsychological Risk Factors for Chronic Postoperative Pain Following Abdominal Surgery]

To analyze the incidence of chronic postoperative pain (CPSP) after patients have undergone abdominal surgery and identify the neuropsychological risk factors involved.

A total of 102 patients who underwent abdominal surgery at our hospital between January 2023 and January 2025 were enrolled. The general demographic and surgery-related data were collected. Three months after surgery, follow-up assessments were conducted via outpatient visits or telephone interviews. The occurrence of CPSP was assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). Neuropsychological status was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent influencing factors associated with CPSP.

Among the 102 patients, the incidence of CPSP at 3 months post-surgery was 31.37% (32 cases). Significant differences were observed between the CPSP and non-CPSP groups with respect to age, duration of surgery, postoperative length-of-stay in the hospital, SDS scores, and PCS scores (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.336, 95% CI: 1.046-1.710), postoperative length-of-stay (OR = 0.495, 95% CI: 0.296-0.829), and PCS score (OR = 2.437, 95% CI: 1.137-5.224) were independent influencing factors associated with the development of CPSP at 3 months after abdominal surgery (P < 0.05).

Age and PCS are risk factors for CPSP in patients undergoing abdominal surgery, while the length of postoperative length-of-stay is a protective factor. Targeted strategies, including preoperative screening, psychological interventions, and optimized pain management for high-risk patients are recommended to reduce the incidence of CPSP.