Qing-Ren Liu,1 Yu-Chen Dai,2 Mu-Huo Ji,3 Pan-Miao Liu,4 Yong-Yan Dong,4 Jian-Jun Yang4 

1Department of Anesthesiology, Xishan People’s Hospital of Wuxi City, Wuxi, 214105, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210011, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Jian-Jun Yang, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, NO. 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, People’s Republic of China, Email yjyangjj@126.com

Abstract: Acute postsurgical pain (APSP) has received growing attention as a surgical outcome. When poorly controlled, APSP can affect short- and long-term outcomes in patients. Despite the steady increase in awareness about postoperative pain and standardization of pain prevention and treatment strategies, moderate-to-severe APSP is frequently reported in clinical practice. This is possibly because pain varies widely among individuals and is influenced by distinct factors, such as demographic, perioperative, psychological, and genetic factors. This review investigates the risk factors for APSP, including gender, age, obesity, smoking history, preoperative pain history, pain sensitivity, preoperative anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, expected postoperative pain, surgical fear, and genetic polymorphisms. By identifying patients having an increased risk of moderate-to-severe APSP at an early stage, clinicians can more effectively manage individualized analgesic treatment protocols with a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This would alleviate the transition from APSP to chronic pain and reduce the severity of APSP-induced chronic physical disability and social psychological distress.

Keywords: acute postoperative pain, acute postsurgical pain, risk factors, predictors