PREDICTORS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to explore the role of pote ntial risk factors in predicting the development of chronic pain. Line ar discriminant function analysis was used to derive a prediction equa tion that maximized the differences between a group of hospitalized pa tients experiencing acute pain who developed chronic pain (n = 171) an d a group whose pain resolved (n = 200). Patients who developed chroni c pain reported a higher pain intensity, higher anxiety and distress, less certainty that their pain would resolve, longer hospitalization, less independence in ambulation, a diagnosis of trauma, and less need for surgery. Recognition of these factors could lead to early identifi cation of those individuals with acute pain who are at risk for develo ping chronic pain. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.