BACKGROUND:Post-operative pain management is a major challenge encountered by anesthesiologists. Opioids remain to be the most frequently administered analgesic for acute pain despite its many untoward side effects. Little is known about pre-operative pain perception and the psychophysiologic aspects of pain control and response, such as Pain Catastrophizing. The observer aims to identify if pain catastrophizing could be a good predictor for post- operative opioid requirement for breakthrough pain.

METHODS:Patients scheduled for elective surgery were stratified pre-operatively as Catastrophizers and Non- Catastrophizers using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Their patient profile, and total opioid consumption in the following stages of surgery: intra- operatively, recovery room admission, and the first post-operative day, were recorded and converted to morphine equivalent doses.

RESULTS:The comparative analysis of the morphine equivalent doses between catastrophizers and non- catastrophizers show that it is significantly different between the two groups of patients for opioid consumption for breakthrough pain in the recovery room and on the first post-operative day. The values suggest that there are significantly higher doses in catastrophizers than in the non-catastrophizers.

CONCLUSION:Pain Catastrophizers were shown to require a significantly higher amount of opioids for breakthrough pain during recovery room admission and first post-operative day versus Non-Catastrophizers. This finding is consistent with the existing literature suggesting that pain catastrophizing is a predictor of post-operative opioid consumption in patients undergoing various elective surgeries.