Pain

The goal of this research group is gaining more insight in the time dynamics of pain and the interplay of psychological and contextual factors on acute and chronic postsurgical pain. Additionally, we want to optimize management of postoperative pain in the home setting. We therefore design studies using digital Experience Sampling Method (ESM) in combination with electronic questionnaires to monitor postoperative pain and psychosocial factors. Furthermore, we want to implement interaction between the app and the individual patient, first, to ease medication use, second to give instructions to the patient and third, to enable insights for the patient into their own data for self-management. 

For the analyses of ESM data multilevel regression analysis is used. This technique takes into account baseline differences between individual patients (random intercepts) as well as different processes (random slopes). The long-term vision is to implement a flexible digital monitoring tool for patients in the perioperative setting. The main aim is to get more insight into the complex interplay between pain, psychosocial, contextual and pharmacological factors, and to support patients and health professionals in the perioperative phase. Simultaneously, a database with information to individualize perioperative pain treatment will be set up.

Unique contributions and highlights

A recent achievement is that we published one of the first studies describing insights of ESM-data in the perioperative setting. Recent results of two of our clinical pilot studies in orthopedic patients show a significant covariation of positive global mood with a reduction in reported pain and a significant interaction of global mood and day number after surgery. Also, new insights in medication use were obtained. This work is conducted in collaboration between the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology.