Structure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Pain and Pain-Free Patients Scheduled for Major Surgery

Abstract

Factor-analyrtic studies of the structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have yielded inconsistent results. One of the reasons for the inconsistency may be that PTSD is highly comorbid with otherdisorders; the observed factor structure might depend on the particularcomorbid disorder. One such disorder is chronic pain. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether PTSD symptom structure differs between pain and pain-free patients scheduled to undergo major surgery. Four hundred and forty-seven patients who were approached 7 to 10 days prior to scheduled surgery completed the PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C) Version and the Current Pain and Pain History Questionnaire; the lafter was used to divide patients into pain (N = 175) and pain-free (N = 272) groups. Results showed that in pain-free patients, PTSD symptoms were best expressed as 2 symptom clusters (re-experiencing/avoidance; emotional numbing/hyperarousal) accountingtor52.4%o of thevariance. In pain patienG, PTSD symptoms were best expressed as a single symptom cluster accounting for 51

Preliminary analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder screening within specialty clinic setting for OIF/OEF veterans seeking care for neck or back pain

“…PTSD symptom severity has been associated with poorer health functioning among OIF/OEF veterans [56][57]. Additionally, PTSD symptom expression has been shown to differ between pain and pain-free populations [58]. Shipherd et al suggest that healthcare providers dedicated to pain management should be aware of the prevalence and potential impact of behavioral health disorders, including PTSD, on clinical outcomes [59].…”

Acute and chronic postsurgical pain after living liver donation: Incidence and predictors

“…The NRS is a brief, easy‐to‐use pain assessment tool that has demonstrated strong reliability and validity in previous studies of acute and chronic pain patients (including surgical populations) . Participants were also asked a series of detailed questions about past surgeries and pain conditions as well as any ongoing pain problems (for more information on this questionnaire, see Pagé et al). Lastly, a variety of demographic factors (eg, age, ethnicity, and employment status) were assessed.…”

Biomedical and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Disability After Peripheral Nerve Injury

“…A higher score indicates more symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Validity, internal consistency, and reliability have been shown for the PCL-C [38][39][40] .…”