Dexmedetomidine Infusion Impact on Chronic Pain Patients

Chronic pain (CP) was defined as pain experienced daily or on most days and induced restriction of at least one activity. CP is one of the commonest complaints confronted in outpatient clinics and constitutes a challenge for all medical provisions. CP is a multifaceted condition; postoperative CP is frequently encountered in clinical practice and may be of debilitating severity leading to worse quality of life (QOL) especially CP with a neuropathic component as post-mastectomy pain syndrome and post-amputation pain and chronic post-sternotomy pain that seriously impacts patients' QOL and affects patient recovery till 12 months after cardiac surgery. Chronic musculoskeletal pain as defined by the International Pain Association is the persistent or recurrent pain involving spine, bones, joints, and/or musculo-soft tissue.

Chronic pain was considered as a long-lasting stressor that might induce disordered mood varying between depression and anxiety with consequent challenge of this combination on treatment outcomes and consumption of health resources. This necessitated psychological screening of CP patient to identify and manage patients with disordered mood to improve CP treatment outcomes.