ArticleAnesthesiology2026
Pain Trajectories after Orthopedic Surgery in Older Adults: An Analysis of Predictors and Associations with Postoperative Outcomes.
Article in Anesthesiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHeterogeneity of postoperative pain trajectories and their impact on clinical outcomes in older orthopedic patients remain insufficiently characterized. This study aimed to identify distinct postoperative pain trajectories, determine their potential predictors, and evaluate their impacts on postoperative outcomes.
methodsThis secondary analysis included 710 patients age 65 to 90 yr who underwent orthopedic surgery and received self-controlled analgesia. After surgery, pain intensity was assessed twice daily for 5 days using an 11-point numeric rating scale; occurrence of complications was followed up until 30 days; quality of life was evaluated at 30 days. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify pain trajectories according to pain intensity with movement. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of trajectory membership. Multivariable regression was used to evaluate associations between trajectory membership and postoperative outcomes.
resultsFour distinct pain trajectories were identified: the slow decrease pattern (57.9%), the rapid decrease pattern (23.4%), the increase-decrease pattern (10.8%), and the slow increase pattern (7.9%). Taking the slow decrease pattern as a reference, preoperative analgesic use was associated with higher risks of increase-decrease (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 3.76; 95% CI, 1.53 to 9.23; P = 0.004) and slow increase trajectories (adjusted OR, 3.89; 95% CI, 1.52 to 9.98; P = 0.005), whereas using dexmedetomidine in self-controlled analgesia was associated with lower risks of rapid decrease (adjusted OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.70; P < 0.001) and increase-decrease trajectories (adjusted OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.28; P < 0.001). When compared with the slow decrease pattern, patients with a rapid decrease trajectory required more opioids and developed more complications; patients with an increase-decrease trajectory required more opioids and had a lower physical domain quality of life score at 30 days; patients with a slow increase trajectory stayed longer in the hospital after surgery.
conclusionsPostoperative pain in older orthopedic patients followed four distinct trajectories that were influenced by baseline and perioperative factors. Specific pain trajectories were associated with adverse postoperative outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.