Abstract:

Introduction: Refractory low back and/or leg pains in patients who had spinal surgeries are among common causes of chronic pain. Previous studies have shown that chronic pain impairs psychological status and depression findings accompany chronic pain in 30-60% of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the relation among age, sex, and number of operations with depressive mood and quality of life in patients with failed back surgery syndrome. Material and Methods: This study included 54 patients who previously had one or multiple spinal surgeries but continue to have refractory low back and/or leg pain. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to assess pain, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess depression level, and Short Form 36 (SF-36) was used to assess quality of life. BDI and SF-36 subscales were compared in age and sex groups and correlations were determined among number of operations and BDI and SF-36 subscales. Results: Evaluation of the patients according to age groups revealed that mean BDI score was higher in patients less than 50 years of age. Mean SF-36 scores were not different between age groups. Also, no significant difference was detected in BDI and SF-36 scores according to sex. There were statistically significant correlations between number of operations and physical functioning and pain subscales of SF-36 but correlation between number of operations and BDI was not significant. Conclusion: Refractory low back and leg pains in young patients with spinal surgery whose expectation to return to active work may cause more depressive mood. Therefore to decrease postoperative depressive mood all possible causes of pain should be evaluated pre-operatively and re-operation risk should be minimized.

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