Pain catastrophizers undergoing posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for idiopathic scoliosis have lower preoperative SRS-30 scores but do not require increased postoperative narcotics.

Background: Pain catastrophizing has been linked to poorer patient-reported pain outcomes for orthopedic surgery, but its effect on perioperative pain and narcotic use is poorly understood. Our purpose was to determine if pain catastrophizing has a negative effect on perceptions of perioperative pain and narcotic use in patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for idiopathic scoliosis (IS).
Methods: A retrospective, IRB-approved review of prospectively collected data of IS patients undergoing PSF. Patients were considered PCs when they scored above the 75th percentile in the PCS (total score ≥ 30). Inpatient narcotic consumption was calculated as morphine equivalent per Kg (mEq/Kg).
Results: Five hundred seventeen patients (411F, 106M) underwent PSF for IS. Forty-five (8.7%) patients were pain catastrophizers (PCs). PC patients had significantly lower pain, appearance, and mental scores. PCs scored slightly higher on VAS pain scores (2.20 vs 1.92, p = 0.015) in the first 24 h only. There were no differences in opioid use between PC vs. non-PC cohorts for inpatient (2.01 vs 2.14 mEq/Kg, p = 0.4), discharge (5.6 vs 5.87 mEq/Kg, p = 0.3), or total narcotics (7.61 v 8.01 mEq/Kg, p = 0.2). Fifty-five patients out of five hundred seventeen requested narcotic refills with no difference in refill rates between cohorts (p = 0.7076).
Conclusion: We found that pain catastrophizers had lower pre-operative SRS-30 scores across all domains except satisfaction. We found no association between pain catastrophizing and increased opioid use in either the inpatient stay or post-discharge. While pain catastrophizing has been associated with lower pre- and post-operative pain scores, it does not appear to predispose to higher narcotic utilization perioperatively.
Level of Evidence: II: retrospective comparative study.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: Dr. Elaine Tran, Mr. David Thornberg, Ms. Anne-Marie Datcu, Dr. Chan-Hee Jo, and Dr. Brandon Ramo have no relevant financial or non-financial interest to disclose. Ethics approval: IRB approval was received before the study began. Participants were prospectively enrolled and informed consent was obtained prior to initiation. (IRB #022011–127).
(© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Scoliosis Research Society.)