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Objective Data on chronic pain after lung transplantation are heterogeneous. This study prospectively explored the prevalence, characteristics, consequences, and preoperative predictors of pain in lung transplant recipients. Design A prospective cohort study. Setting The Foch University Hospital, Suresnes, France. Participants Patients registered on the waiting list for double-lung transplantation in the authors’ institution from August 2008 to October 2013 and transplanted. Interventions Database prospectively completed in real time during consultations with a pain-certified anesthesiologist before lung transplantation and six months after surgery. Measurements and Main Results The assessments explored pain in three components: physical (intensity, location, neuropathic and sensory qualifications, treatments), mental (anxiety and depression), and quality of life. Seventy-two patients underwent all assessments. The prevalence of six-month postoperative pain was 68.0%. Among patients with pain, 83.3% reported mild average pain and 26.5% had neuropathic pain. All patients who responded to the questionnaire took analgesics frequently, but only 9.1% took opioids. Patients with pain reported higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.02) and depression (p = 0.01). Additionally, they presented with increased difficulty in ambulation (p = 0.03), work (p = 0.02), and sleep (p = 0.02). The maximum level of preoperative pain was an independent risk factor of six-month postoperative pain (p = 0.03). Conclusions The authors report a high prevalence of chronic pain with concomitant psychosocial repercussions despite a reported mild intensity. Perioperative measures, such as personalized and detailed management plans, could improve patient satisfaction.

Hypnosis can reduce pain and anxiety in surgical patients. This study aimed to demonstrate that implementing self-hypnosis in the setting of lung transplantation could improve patients' pain and quality of life.A randomized, single-center study.Foch University Hospital, Suresnes, France.The participants were patients aged 15 years or older who needed a double-lung transplant. Patients were excluded if they participated in only 1 learning self-hypnosis session before transplantation.Patients were included at the time of their final evaluation before inscription on the waiting list. They were taught self-hypnosis at this time and were asked to perform it by themselves before and after transplantation, as frequently as possible.The main outcome of the study was self-reported pain 1 month after lung transplantation. Secondary outcomes were self-reported pain, anxiety, coping, catastrophism, and self-reported quality of life evaluated at their registration, 7 days and 1 and 4 months after the transplantation. Seventy-eight patients were included, but only 28 patients in the control group and 33 in the self-hypnosis group were evaluated at the fourth postoperative month. Practice of self-hypnosis was high before transplantation (76.6%), lower after, from 32.3% in the intensive care unit to 51.6% during the last 3 months of the study. Group-time interactions were not statistically significant whatever the concerned outcome, especially pain score at 1 month (p = 0.16).Implementation of self-hypnosis is possible, but the study failed to demonstrate an improvement in patients' experience, perhaps due to the variable compliance with the technique.