Chronic post-surgical pain following gastrointestinal surgery: Protocol for a scoping review

BACKGROUND: Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) significantly impacts people's lives, affecting both socioeconomic aspects as well as their rehabilitation after surgery. Yet, CPSP remains an under-researched field. The prevalence varies depending on type of surgery, which highlights the importance of surgery-specific research. This scoping review aims to investigate CPSP following gastrointestinal surgery in order to map out incidences, risk factors, and impact on quality of life (QoL) as well as identify gaps in research.

METHODS: The planned review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for Scoping Review guidelines. A search strategy will be carried out in major peer-reviewed databases and grey literature will be sought and identified. We will include original studies assessing CPSP after gastrointestinal surgery, with the exception of hernia surgery. We will chart data regarding trial characteristics, patient demographic, surgical diagnosis, risk factors, follow-up times, pain definitions and evaluations as well as impact on QoL.

RESULTS: We will present the included studies with a narrative summary, supplemented with descriptive statistics of the quantitative data if appropriate.

CONCLUSION: The planned scoping review will map out the current evidence about CPSP in adults following gastrointestinal surgery. We will identify gaps in research that can support the development of further research into CPSP after gastrointestinal surgery.