Internet-delivered interventions are emerging as a strategy to address barriers to care for individuals with chronic pain. This is the first large multicenter randomized controlled trial of Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for pediatric chronic pain. Participants included were 273 adolescents (205 females and 68 males), aged 11 to 17 years with mixed chronic pain conditions and their parents, who were randomly assigned in a parallel-group design to Internet-delivered CBT (n = 138) or Internet-delivered Education (n = 135). Assessments were completed before treatment, immediately after treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. All data collection and procedures took place online. The primary analysis used linear growth models. Results demonstrated significantly greater reduction on the primary outcome of activity limitations from baseline to 6-month follow-up for Internet CBT compared with Internet education (b = −1.13, P = 0.03). On secondary outcomes, significant beneficial effects of Internet CBT were found on sleep quality (b = 0.14, P = 0.04), on reducing parent miscarried helping (b = −2.66, P = 0.007) and protective behaviors (b = −0.19, P = 0.001), and on treatment satisfaction (P values < 0.05). On exploratory outcomes, benefits of Internet CBT were found for parent-perceived impact (ie, reductions in depression, anxiety, self-blame about their adolescent’s pain, and improvement in parent behavioral responses to pain). In conclusion, our Internet-delivered CBT intervention produced a number of beneficial effects on adolescent and parent outcomes, and could ultimately lead to wide dissemination of evidence-based psychological pain treatment for youth and their families.

Limited research has examined presurgical risk factors for poor outcomes in children after major surgery. This longitudinal study examined presurgical psychosocial and behavioral factors as predictors of acute postsurgical pain intensity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children 2 weeks after major surgery. Sixty children aged 10–18 years, 66.7% female, and their parent/guardian participated in the study. Children underwent baseline assessment of pain (daily electronic diary), HRQOL, sleep (actigraphy), and psychosocial factors (anxiety, pain catastrophizing). Caregivers reported on parental pain catastrophizing. Longitudinal follow-up assessment of pain and HRQOL was conducted at home 2 weeks after surgery. Regression analyses adjusting for baseline pain revealed that presurgery sleep duration (β=−.26, p<.05), and parental pain catastrophizing (β=.28, p<.05) were significantly associated with mean pain intensity reported by children 2 weeks after surgery, with shorter presurgery sleep duration and greater parental catastrophizing about child pain predicting greater pain intensity. Adjusting for baseline HRQOL, presurgery child state anxiety (β=−.29, p<.05) was significantly associated with HRQOL at 2 weeks, with greater anxiety predicting poorer HRQOL after surgery. In conclusion, child anxiety, parental pain catastrophizing, and sleep patterns are potentially modifiable factors which predict poor outcomes in children after major surgery. Perspective This study addresses an important gap in literature, examining presurgical risk factors for poorer acute postsurgical outcomes in children undergoing major surgery. Knowledge of these factors will enable presurgical identification of children at risk for poorer outcomes and guide further research developing prevention and intervention strategies for these children.

Research developing targeted treatment focused on coping with children’s long-term pain after surgery is needed due to the high prevalence of chronic pain after surgery. This qualitative study aimed to 1) understand the child’s and family’s experiences of pain over the course of their surgical experience, and 2) gather stakeholder input regarding potential barriers and facilitators of perioperative intervention delivery. Fifteen children ages 10–18 years who underwent recent major surgery, their primary caregivers, and 17 perioperative healthcare providers were interviewed. Interviews were coded using semantic thematic analysis. The perioperative period presented emotional challenges for families. Families felt unprepared for surgery and pain. Recovery and regaining physical functioning at home was challenging. Families struggled to return to valued activities. Families reported interest in a perioperative psychosocial intervention. Providers endorsed that families would benefit from enhanced coping skills. They emphasized that families would benefit from more detailed preparatory information. Providers suggested that flexible intervention delivery at home would be ideal. Research developing interventions addressing pain and anxiety in children undergoing major surgery is critically needed. The findings of the present study can inform intervention development with the aim of improving both short and long-term recovery in children undergoing major surgery.

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Although pain and function improve at immediate post-treatment for youth receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic pain, limited data are available to understand changes that youth make during psychological treatment. We sought to characterize distinct trajectory patterns of change in pain and function in order to understand the temporal association of these changes during internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral treatment. Weekly repeated assessments of pain and function were conducted during eight weeks of treatment among 135 adolescents, ages 11 to 17 years, with chronic pain who were randomized to the cognitive-behavioral intervention (CBT) arm of an ongoing trial of internet-delivered CBT (Web-Based Management of Adolescent Pain; Web-MAP2). Using random effects growth mixture models we characterized pain and functional disability trajectories finding distinct trajectory groups indicating patterns of both linear as well as quadratic effects. Trajectories of change showed that some patients’ pain and functional disability was improving, others worsened, or changed minimally. Paired t-tests compared the within-subject relative change rate in pain and function demonstrating similar change range for pain and function during the treatment period. There was no support for improvements in either pain or function to precede changes in the other domain. Findings may be useful in informing future studies of psychosocial treatments for pediatric chronic pain to consider how to target treatment strategies to distinct patient response profiles. This may lead to the development of intervention strategies that can both more effectively target children’s pain and function during treatment, and lead to sustained changes following treatment.