Post-COVID Patients With New-Onset Chronic Pain 2 Years After Infection: Cross-Sectional Study, 2023, Calvache-Mateo et al.

[SNT Gatchaman]

Post-COVID Patients With New-Onset Chronic Pain 2 Years After Infection: Cross-Sectional Study
Andrés Calvache-Mateo; Alba Navas-Otero; Alejandro Heredia-Ciuró; Javier Matín-Núñez; Irene Torres-Sánchez; Laura López-López; Marie Carmen Valenza

Background:
Although pain is common in non-hospitalized post-COVID-19 syndrome, only a few studies have provided information on the pain experience of these patients.

Aim: To identify the clinical and psychosocial profile associated with pain in non-hospitalized patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Method: In this study there were three groups: healthy control group, successfully recovered group, and post-COVID syndrome group. Pain-related clinical profile and pain-related psychosocial variables were collected. Pain-related clinical profile included: pain intensity and interference (Brief Pain Inventory), central sensitization (Central Sensitization Scale), insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index), and pain treatment. Pain-related psychosocial variables were: fear of movement and (re)injury (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia), catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale), depression, anxiety and stress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), and fear-avoidance beliefs (Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire).

Results: In all, 170 participants were included in the study (healthy control group n = 58, successfully recovered group n = 57, and post-COVID syndrome group n = 55). Post-COVID syndrome group obtained significantly worse punctuation in pain-related clinical profile and psychosocial variables than the other two groups (p < .05).

Conclusions: In conclusion, patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome have experienced high pain intensity and interference, central sensitization, increased insomnia severity, fear of movement, catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, depression, anxiety, and stress.

Link | PDF (Pain Management Nursing)

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

Just awful. I feel sad for the patients in the part of Spain (Granada) served by this group of (I assume) physiotherapists.

Our results have demonstrated a decreased quality of life in the post-COVID syndrome group compared with the other two control groups. Malik et al., 2022 carried out a systematic review with the aim of evaluating the prevalence of poor quality of life in post-COVID-19 syndrome, and they concluded that post-COVID syndrome was related to poor quality of life. They thought that a possible reason was the fact that post-COVID patients have higher stress levels and psychological issues inhibiting them from relaxing and may result in sleep disturbances (Bellan et al., 2021). These results are in line with those found in our study. We have found significant levels of insomnia as well as stress, anxiety, and depression in the post-COVID syndrome group.

This study has revealed that patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome have shown high pain intensity and interference, central sensitization, insomnia severity, fear of movement, catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, depression, anxiety, and stress.

I can't even with this dross. Perhaps I have developed central sensitisation...

 

[Trish]

Correlation-causation-confusion yet again. Not to mention the misuse and misinterpretation of inappropriate questionnaires.

I think the only solution to this endless dross is to ban psychological and behavioural questionnaires in medical research.

 

[shak8]

Unfortunate, useless psych-locus of focus, once again, despite the importance of pain in Long Covid patients. They cite a study about the fear of pain (catastrophisation and movement avoidance) leading to pain chronification.

Translation blooper: (The post-covid group) "obtained significantly worse punctuation in pain-related clinical profile and psychosocial variables..."

Non-representative sample: the Long Covid subjects that were recruited belonged to an association of Long Covid sufferers.

No description of the types of pain suffered by the Long Covid group. Or what medications were used. Patients weren't followed over time.

 

[rvallee]

This is not research. Throwing a bunch of meaningless questionnaires and hiding behind fake numbers is not doing research. These people have no idea what they're doing, clearly understand nothing about pain. And it's supposed to be a pain nursing journal. What is wrong with this damn profession?! How did it all get so bad?

I agree with Trish, this nonsense won't stop until this practice is banned. The profession is obsessed with having excuses to justify their failures and will never stop on their own. This is exactly as biased as "when have you stopped beating your wife?" journalism, it's extremely unprofessional.

Questionnaires like this are simply not valid. Even the way they do it doesn't make sense. They ask a bunch of unrelated questions, most of them bizarre and leading, then somehow add them all up to a total. As if the individual numbers have the exact same value on the same axis. When they clearly don't. This is worse than comparing apples and oranges, and that's used as an example of what not to do that even children understand.

Seriously, we have to move to ban this Meyers-Briggs medicine BS, basically medical astrology/numerology. For the same reasons that wild speculation about someone's character, assuming their guilt, by a prosecutor is not valid and grounds for mistrial. These questionnaires have nothing to do with us, they don't amount to a credible measurement of anything and are clearly abused to excess in distorting and manufacturing a version of reality.

 

[RedFox]

It's utterly disgusting how doctors treat people with chronic pain. Acting like the pain is a character issue. Disturbing. Medicine exists to mitigate pain and suffering.

Not only is chronic pain dismissed, it's underfunded. Chronic pain is such a common and serious problem that developing powerful and non-addictive drugs against should be a top research priority.