The primary goal of this proposal is to establish Baroreflex Sensitivity (BRS) as a biomarker for acute postoperative pain (POP) and the likelihood of persistent postoperative pain (PPP) at the 3 month postoperative timepoint in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Our central hypothesis is that preoperative BRS is inversely associated with the magnitude and duration of POP during postoperative days 0-2 and the likelihood of PPP at 3 months throughout the postoperative observation by influencing nociceptive processing and surgically-induced inflammation. If this central hypothesis is confirmed then future interventional studies designed to enhance BRS will be developed with the goal of optimizing perioperative outcomes.
We will study Baroreflex Sensitivity (BRS) as a biomarker for acute postoperative pain (POP) and the likelihood of persistent postoperative pain (PPP) at the 3 month postoperative timepoint in patients undergoing video- assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Our central hypothesis is that preoperative BRS is inversely associated with the magnitude and duration of POP during postoperative days 0-2 and the likelihood of PPP at 3 months throughout the postoperative observation by influencing nociceptive processing and surgically-induced inflammation.
