Multidimensional patient-reported recovery and early pain trajectories within 90 days after the Nuss procedure: a retrospective cohort study

Authors:
  • CLChaofan Liu
    Chaofan Liu
  • DXDekai Xu
    Dekai Xu
  • ZCZiguo Chen
    Ziguo Chen
  • JWJunhan Wu
    Junhan Wu
  • SLSiwen Li
    Siwen Li
  • CCChaojian Chen
    Chaojian Chen
  • ZHZhe He
    Zhe He

Abstract
Background: Postoperative assessment after the Nuss procedure often emphasizes pain intensity, although recovery also includes functional and procedure-specific symptoms. We characterized multidimensional patient-reported recovery during the first 90 postoperative days. Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort included 93 patients with at least three valid assessments on a 10-item Nuss-specific symptom and function scale. Records were summarized in five postoperative windows. Longitudinal domain patterns, pain-function discordance, and exploratory early pain trajectories were described. Internal consistency of the scale and the perioperative anesthesia and analgesia context were additionally evaluated. Results: The cohort contributed 1,729 records. Pain declined from a median of 5.50 [interquartile range (IQR), 4.25–6.50] during days 1–7 to 2.33 (IQR, 1.00–4.00) during days 15–30, whereas functional limitation was 4.82 (IQR, 3.86–5.94) and 3.00 (IQR, 1.71–4.70), respectively. During days 15–30, 11/88 patients (12.5%) had relatively low pain but persistent functional limitation under exploratory, distribution-informed thresholds. An exploratory two-class model yielded an improving class (79/89) and a persistent-high-pain class (10/89). Among 79 patients with trajectory and later outcome data, residual pain during days 31–90 occurred in 6/9 patients in the persistent-high-pain class and 11/70 in the improving class. Internal-consistency coefficients across windows ranged from 0.900 to 0.950 for the symptom domain and from 0.737 to 0.909 for the function domain. Conclusions: Recovery during the first 90 days after the Nuss procedure was multidimensional, with functional limitation and bar awareness improving more slowly than pain. Exploratory trajectory findings also indicated heterogeneity in early recovery. Multidomain follow-up may provide a more complete view of recovery, and prospective studies with standardized analgesia, neuropathic-pain measures, and longer follow-up are warranted.