More than 30% of patients undergoing thoracic surgical procedures develop persistent post-surgical pain (PPSP), which results in impaired functioning, diminished quality of life, and increased risk of chronic opioid use. The proposed project aims to determine whether a prospective, randomized, controlled study of smartphone-based perioperative cognitive flexibility training will reduce the incidence of PPSP in high-risk individuals undergoing thoracic surgery.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
TRIPLE
The COFLEX training group will then be provided with the cognitive training module and participants will be required to complete a targeted 30-minute daily training until the day of surgery, and then after the surgery, for a total of 6 weeks.
The control (crossword puzzles) group will be given a training module, where they can access crossword puzzles on the same platform, and can do puzzles whenever they desire over the 6-week time period.
The presence of clinically meaningful persistent post-surgical pain 3 months after surgery
Participants will be asked about pain at or around their surgical area (dichotomous yes/no answer), and rate the intensity of pain, if present, on 0-10 numerical rating scale, where 0=no pain, and 10=worst imaginable pain. The presence of PPSP will be compared between the intervention arm and the control arm
Time frame: 3 months after surgery
Brief Pain Inventory pain severity
BPI (brief pain inventory) severity score will be compared between the study arms. BPI severity score ranges from 0 (least) to 10 (worst)
Time frame: 1 and 3 months after surgery
Brief Pain Inventory pain interference
BPI (brief pain inventory) interference score will be compared between the study arms. BPI interference score ranges from 0 (least) to 10 (worst)
Time frame: 1 and 3 months after surgery
PROMIS Anxiety Score
PROMIS® (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) is a set of person-centered measures that evaluates and monitors physical, mental, and social health. Each item on the measure is rated on a 5-point scale (1=never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=often; and 5=always) with a range in score from 7 to 35 with higher scores indicating greater severity of anxiety. The score will be compared between the arms
Time frame: 3 months after surgery
PROMIS Depression score
PROMIS® (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) is a set of person-centered measures that evaluates and monitors physical, mental, and social health. Each item on the measure is rated on a 5-point scale (1=never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=often; and 5=always) with a range in score from 7 to 35 with higher scores indicating greater severity of depression. The score will be compared between the arms.
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Time frame: 3 months after surgery