This study provides moderate-level evidence for pain catastrophizing as an independent predictor of chronic pain post-TKA .
BACKGROUND Total knee arthroplasty ( TKA ) is a common and costly surgical procedure .
Despite high success rates , many TKA patients develop chronic pain  in the months and years following surgery , constituting a public health burden .
Pain catastrophizing is a construct that reflects anxious preoccupation with pain , inability to inhibit pain-related fears , amplification of the significance of pain vis-à-vis health implication s , and a sense of helplessness regarding pain .
Recent research suggests that it may be an important risk factor for untoward TKA outcomes .
To clarify this impact , we systematic ally review ed the literature to date on pain catastrophizing as a prospect i ve predictor of chronic pain following TKA .
Are psychological predictors of chronic postsurgical pain dependent on the surgical model? A comparison of total knee arthroplasty and breast surgery for cancer.
UNLABELLED Anxiety , depression , and catastrophizing are generally considered to be predictive of chronic postoperative pain , but this may not be the case after all types of surgery , raising the possibility that the results depend on the surgical model . We assessed the predictive value of these factors for chronic postsurgical pain in 2 different surgical models : total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis ( 89 patients , 65 % women , age = 69 ± 9 years , baseline pain intensity = 4.7 ± 2.1 ) and breast surgery for cancer ( 100 patients , 100 % women , age = 55 ± 12 years , no preoperative pain ) . Data were collected before surgery , then 2 days and 3 months after surgery . Anxiety , depression , and catastrophizing were measured with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory , Beck Depression Inventory , and Pain Catastrophizing Scale , respectively . Pain was assessed with the  Brief Pain Inventory  . Neuropathic pain was detected with the DN4 question naire . Multivariate logistic regression analyses for the total knee arthroplasty and breast surgery models considered together indicated that the presence of clinical ly meaningful chronic pain at 3 months ( pain intensity ≥3/10 ) was predicted independently by age ( P = .04 ) , pain intensity on day 2 ( P = .009 ) , and state anxiety ( P = .001 ) . Linear regression models also showed that pain magnification , one of the dimensions of catastrophizing , independently predicted chronic pain intensity ( P = .04 ) . These results were not affected by the surgical model or by the neuropathic characteristics of the pain . Thus , state anxiety and pain magnification seem to constitute psychological risk factors for chronic postsurgical pain relevant in all surgical models . PERSPECTIVE This prospect i ve study performed in patients with total knee arthroplasty or breast surgery for cancer shows that state anxiety , amplification of pain , and acute postoperative pain independently predict postsurgical pain at 3 months and that this does not depend on the surgical model
This study provides moderate-level evidence for pain catastrophizing as an independent predictor of chronic pain post-TKA .
BACKGROUND Total knee arthroplasty ( TKA ) is a common and costly surgical procedure .
Despite high success rates , many TKA patients develop chronic pain  in the months and years following surgery , constituting a public health burden .
Pain catastrophizing is a construct that reflects anxious preoccupation with pain , inability to inhibit pain-related fears , amplification of the significance of pain vis-à-vis health implication s , and a sense of helplessness regarding pain .
Recent research suggests that it may be an important risk factor for untoward TKA outcomes .
To clarify this impact , we systematic ally review ed the literature to date on pain catastrophizing as a prospect i ve predictor of chronic pain following TKA .