Table 1

Patient characteristics by maximum acute pain category

Mild pain (N=40)Moderate pain (N=40)Severe pain (N=44)Association with numeric pain score
Patient variables
 Age (years)63.00 (55.00, 67.00)57.50 (49.50, 67.00)53.50 (46.50, 64.00)0.01*
 Height (cm)163.27 (6.89)164.16 (6.08)162.20 (5.18)0.53*
 Weight (kg)77.73 (69.00, 88.05)72.56 (64.00, 84.37)75.75 (70.25, 94.00)0.80*
 BMI (kg/m2)29.95 (25.81, 34.06)27.87 (23.44, 31.35)28.99 (26.32, 35.22)0.77*
Race0.88†
 African American12 (30.00)7 (17.50)14 (31.82)
 Caucasian26 (65.00)31 (77.50)29 (65.91)
 Other2 (5.00)2 (5.00)1 (2.27)
Education0.38†
 College18 (56.25)23 (60.53)19 (46.34)
 High school4 (12.50)5 (13.16)12 (29.27)
 Less than high school4 (12.50)2 (5.26)3 (7.32)
 Master’s degree/PhD6 (18.75)8 (21.05)7 (17.07)
Preoperative breast pain5 (12.50)5 (12.50)11 (25.00)0.36‡
 Previous breast surgery5 (12.50)7 (17.50)10 (22.73)0.27‡
 Previous chemotherapy7 (17.50)13 (32.50)15 (34.09)0.08‡
 Previous radiotherapy4 (10.00)3 (7.50)0 (0.00)0.06‡
Baseline questionnaire scores
 STAI score46.50 (41.50, 49.00)47.00 (42.00, 50.50)45.00 (42.00, 51.00)0.78*
 Total MTS score (TS10–TS1)0.00 (0.00, 0.50)0.00 (0.00, 1.00)0.00 (0.00, 1.00)0.24*
 MTS positive10 (25.00)18 (45.00)16 (38.10)0.29‡
 DNIC0.00 (−1.00, 2.00)0.00 (−0.70, 1.40)0.40 (−1.00, 2.00)0.68*
 Total PCS4.00 (1.00, 8.00)4.50 (0.50, 10.00)10.50 (2.00, 17.00)0.02*
Total PCS category<0.01†
 <1032 (80.00)28 (70.00)20 (45.45)
 10–196 (15.00)10 (25.00)15 (34.09)
 ≥202 (5.00)2 (5.00)9 (20.45)
BDI score5.00 (2.00, 9.50)5.00 (3.00, 7.00)8.00 (4.00, 14.00)0.01*
Surgery-related variables
 Laterality (bilateral)3 (7.50)8 (20.00)14 (31.82)0.02‡
 Type of axillary surgery0.46†
  Axillary dissection3 (7.50)10 (25.00)6 (13.64)
  Sentinel node biopsy27 (67.50)19 (47.50)21 (47.73)
  None10 (25.00)11 (27.50)17 (38.64)
Type of breast surgery<0.01†
 Mastectomy with reconstruction1 (2.50)2 (5.00)10 (22.73)
 Modified radical mastectomy2 (5.00)4 (10.00)6 (13.64)
 Partial mastectomy30 (75.00)21 (52.50)20 (45.45)
 Simple mastectomy7 (17.50)13 (32.50)8 (18.18)
Surgeon0.06†
 112 (30.00)13 (32.50)17 (38.64)
 23 (7.50)13 (32.50)12 (27.27)
 323 (57.50)12 (30.00)12 (27.27)
 4*2 (5.00)2 (5.00)3 (6.82)
Duration of surgery (min)88.00 (60.00, 113.00)111.00 (86.50, 156.50)136.00 (79.50, 187.00)<0.01*
Intraoperative opioids (mg morphine equivalents)2.25 (1.50, 3.75)2.25 (1.50, 3.30)3.00 (2.25, 4.50)<0.01*
Regular analgesia4 (10.00)5 (12.50)5 (11.36)0.71‡
Paravertebral block26 (65.00)23 (57.50)19 (43.18)0.04‡
General anesthesia18 (45.00)20 (50.00)31 (70.45)0.01‡
  • Data are median (Q1, Q3), mean (SD), or count (%).

  • **Surgeon ID 4 is a combination of two surgeons who each treated five patients or less.

  • †: *Spearman correlation; † Kruskal-Wallis test; ‡ Wilcoxon Rank Sum test

  • BDI, Beck depression inventory; BMI, body mass index; DNIC, diffuse noxious inhibitory control; MTS, mechanical temporal summation; PCS, pain catastrophizing scale; STAI, state trait anxiety inventory.