Relationship Between Pain Beliefs and Postoperative Pain Outcomes After Total Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between pain beliefs and postoperative pain outcomes in patients who underwent total knee replacement or total hip replacement.

Design: This was a descriptive, prospective, and cross-sectional study.

Methods: The study population included all patients who met the sampling criteria and agreed to participate in the study between April 2019 and January 2020 (N = 91). Data were collected using a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics form, the Pain Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ), and the Turkish Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R-TR). Sociodemographic and clinical data and PBQ scores were obtained preoperatively, and the APS-POQ-R-TR was applied 24 hours after surgery. Findings: In the first 24 hours, the mean lowest pain level was 2.96 ± 2.29; mean highest pain level was 8.05 ± 2.66. In the evaluation of the relationships between patients' sociodemographic characteristics and mean PBQ organic and psychological beliefs scores, statistically significant differences were observed according to income and education level. Mean PBQ organic and psychological beliefs scores were not significantly associated with APS-POQ-R-TR total scores or subscale scores for pain severity, activity interference, sleep interference, and perception of care; affective effect of pain; or adverse effects of pain treatment.

Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that education level and socioeconomic status were associated with patients' pain beliefs, but we observed no relationship between pain beliefs and perceived pain outcomes.