Association between pre‐operative depression and postoperative pain outcomes.

A recent article in Anaesthesia examined the association between pre-operative depression and postoperative pain outcomes. The study found that pre-operative depression was associated with worse pain severity in both the early postoperative period and later follow-up. However, the degree of improvement in pain scores from before surgery to 1-2 years after surgery was similar between depressed and non-depressed patients. The article also highlighted some methodological limitations in the study, including potential bias due to overestimation of sample size. The authors suggest that further evidence is needed before routine screening for depression and comprehensive psychological interventions are implemented in clinical practice. [Extracted from the article]