Pain Psychology and the Biopsychosocial Model of Pain Treatment: Ethical Imperatives and Social Responsibility

Randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of a multimodal mobile application for the treatment of chronic pain

Background

Until recently, treatments for chronic pain commonly relied on in-person interventions, and despite more hybrid care options today, capacity for delivery remains challenged. Digital programs focusing on the psychosocial aspects of pain may provide low-barrier alternatives.

Aims

Through a randomized controlled trial, we investigated the effectiveness of a multimodal mobile application.

Methods

Participants (n = 198; 82% women, mean age = 46.7 [13.1] years; mean pain duration 13.6 [11.2] years) with nonmalignant chronic pain were randomized to either a 6-week intervention (n = 98) or a wait-listed usual care group (n = 100). The intervention involved regular engagement with a user-guided mobile application (Curable Inc.) informed by the biopsychosocial model of pain that included pain education, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and expressive writing. The co-primary outcomes were pain severity and interference at 6 weeks.

Results

We observed significant improvements in the intervention group compared to the control group with estimated changes of -0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI] -1.04 to -0.29, P < .001, d = 0.43) and -0.60 (95% CI -1.18 to -0.03, P = .04, d = 0.27) for pain severity and interference, respectively. There were significant improvements across secondary outcomes (Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System pain interference; pain catastrophizing; anxiety, depression; stress). Frequency of app use was correlated with improved pain interference (P < .001) and pain catastrophizing (P = 0.018), and changes from baseline persisted in the intervention group at 12 weeks (P < .05).

Conclusions

A short-term mobile app intervention resulted in significant improvements across physical and mental health outcomes compared to wait-listed usual care.

Investigating psychological mechanisms linking pain severity to depression symptoms in women cancer survivors at a cancer center with a rural catchment area

PURPOSE

Women cancer survivors, especially those in rural areas, with high levels of depression may be acutely susceptible to pain due to the ways they think, feel, and behave. The current study seeks to elucidate the relationship between symptoms of depression and pain severity in women cancer survivors, by examining the putative mediators involved in this relationship, specifically their self-efficacy for managing their health, how overwhelmed they were from life's responsibilities, and relational burden.

METHODS

Self-report data were collected from 183 cancer survivors of breast, cervical, ovarian, or endometrial/uterine cancer, who were between 6 months and 3 years post-active therapy.

RESULTS

Women cancer survivors with higher (vs. lower) symptoms of depression had more severe pain. Individual mediation analyses revealed that survivors with higher levels of depression felt more overwhelmed by life's responsibilities and had lower self-efficacy about managing their health, which was associated with greater pain severity. When all mediators were simultaneously entered into the same model, feeling overwhelmed by life's responsibilities significantly mediated the link between survivors' symptoms of depression and their pain severity.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between symptoms of depression and pain severity in women cancer survivors may be attributed in part to their self-efficacy and feeling overwhelmed by life's responsibilities. Early and frequent assessment of psychosocial factors involved in pain severity for women cancer survivors may be important for managing their pain throughout the phases of cancer survivorship.

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the fear avoidance components scale in patients with chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders

BACKGROUND

The fear avoidance components scale (FACS) evaluates patients' cognitive, emotional and behavioral fear avoidance behavior. The aim of the study was to conduct the cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the FACS.

METHODS

A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out with 208 patients (46.2 ± 11.4 years, 116 women, 92 men) diagnosed with chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders. Individuals were assessed with FACS, Tampa scale of kinesiophobia (TSK), Beck depression inventory (BDI), Oswestry disability index (ODI), numerical pain scale (NPS), and pain catastrophizing scale (PCS). A total of 70 patients completed the FACS for the second time 3 days later.

RESULTS

Internal consistency of the total score was excellent (Cronbach's alpha: 0.815). There was a strong correlation between FACS and TSK and PCS (r1 0.555, r2 0.678, p < 0.001). In addition, the relationship between FACS and BDI and NPS was moderate in terms of construct validity (r1 0.357, r2 0.391, p < 0.001). FACS had a two-factor structure, as expected. The test-retest reliability of the FACS was acceptable to excellent (ICC = 0.526-0.971).

CONCLUSION

The Turkish version of FACS is a valid and reliable questionnaire for patients with chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders. The FACS provides a further advantage over identical questionnaires by evaluating cognitive, behavioral and emotional fear avoidance components.

Kidney Donor Perspectives on Acute Postoperative Pain Management

This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach to examine living kidney donor's experience of postoperative pain. Thirteen living kidney donors aged 46.5 (±14.4) years participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed. Transcripts were inductively coded and reviewed for trends, patterns, and insights into donor's experience of postoperative pain. Donors experienced postoperative pain from a variety of sources that hindered recovery and created anxiety and fear in some. Donors managed pain with opioid and non-opioid medications, social support, and ambulation. Donor's past experiences with and expectations about pain, relationships with intended recipients, social support, as well as motivations for and meaning of donation informed their experience of postoperative pain. Prompt pharmacologic intervention for pain, as well as further coaching and education about pain management should be emphasized for nurses caring for living kidney donors. Further study of how donor's motivation might mediate their pain experience is needed.

Development of a pain self-management intervention framework for people with spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND

 Pain is the most common reason for medical visits to primary health care practitioners. Pain self-management interventions are encouraged and there is no known self-management intervention framework available that clinicians and people with spinal cord injury (PWSCI) can use to guide treatment selection.

AIM

 This study aimed to develop a pain self-management intervention framework for PWSCI.

SETTING

 Online and facilitated in Gauteng, South Africa.

METHODS

 A three-round modified e-Delphi method was used to reach an 80% consensus among a 21-expert panel. Fifty-nine interventions were distributed via REDCap and a final online audio meeting was held to either include or exclude interventions in the final framework. SPSS v27 was used to analyse descriptive data and content analysis was used for qualitative responses.

RESULTS

 The final developed pain self-management framework consists of 56 interventions and includes interventions from multiple health professions to encompass medical, psychological, therapeutic and social interventions. Interventions are also specified for nociceptive and/or neuropathic pain and grouped according to the biopsychosocial model.

CONCLUSION

 The interprofessional framework may be used as a guideline for PWSCI to alleviate pain, as well as assist health professionals in clinical decision-making, by providing them with the freedom to choose acceptable and adequate interventions that may be appropriate to treat the affected individual's pain.Contribution: Pain management is a basic need at the primary healthcare level and PWSCI need access to the broad range of interventions available to manage their pain. The framework highlights the variety of appropriate interventions to guide both health professionals and PWSCI with pain relief options.

A scoping review on the methods of assessment and role of resilience on function and movement-evoked pain when experiencing a musculoskeletal injury

BACKGROUND

Resilience refers to an individual's ability to maintain effective functioning, by resisting, withstanding or recovering from stressors or adversity, including pain associated with physical injury (J Clin Psychol Med Settings 28:518-28, 2021). The aim of this scoping review is to determine the role of resilience in the experience of movement-evoked pain (MEP) and return to functional activity following a musculoskeletal injury.

METHODS

This review conformed to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews and the scoping review protocol of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Five databases and one grey literature database were searched using predetermined key words and index terms to capture published and unpublished records on the topic. Two authors independently screened the title and abstract of each record, with the full-text of eligible records being reviewed. Papers were eligible for inclusion if they examined the population, concept and context of interest, were written in English and the full text was available. Data were extracted from each eligible record to guide discussion of the available literature on this topic.

RESULTS

Of 4771 records, 2695 articles underwent screening based on their title and abstract. After title and abstract screening 132 articles were eligible for full text review, with 24 articles included in the final analysis. This review identified that psychological resilience has primarily been investigated in the context of a range of age-related pathologies. The choice of functional and movement-evoked pain assessments in the included studies were often guided by the pathology of interest, with some being general or injury specific.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review identified inconsistent conclusions regarding the role of resilience in the experience of MEP and the ability to return to function for older adults with a musculoskeletal injury. This scoping review highlights the need for longitudinal research to be conducted that allows a broader age range, including younger adults, to determine if multidimensional resilience may promote recovery form musculoskeletal injury.

Comparison of the effect of psychosocial skills training on acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain intensity: The effectiveness of early intervention in the reduction of acute musculoskeletal pain

BACKGROUND

Pain, as a psychological experience, is caused by complex interactions among sensory-discriminative, motivational-affective, and cognitive-evaluative dimensions. The psychosocial approach is one of the important approaches in managing musculoskeletal pain in patients. Therefore, this study aimed to determine and compare the effects of psychosocial skills training on pain intensity in patients with acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain.

METHODS

In this quasi-experimental study, 64 patients with acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain were selected using convenience sampling. Both groups received psychosocial training in pain management in groups of 8-10 people over six 1-h sessions. The data were collected at baseline, after the intervention, and 3 months later using a numerical rating scale (NRS). Then, the data were entered into the SPSS 22 software and were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS

In this study, the mean age of the participants was 50.10 ± 10.63 years and 60.9% of them were female. Based on the results, time had a significant effect on pain intensity (p < 0.001), but the effect of group on pain intensity was not statistically significant (p = 0.07). The group × time effect on pain intensity was also statistically significant (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Psychosocial training had a positive impact on the reduction of pain among the patients with acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Additionally, the training was more effective in patients with acute pain due to early training. These findings can help healthcare providers in the field of musculoskeletal pain management, especially in patients with acute pain.

Sociodemographic trends in a UK temporomandibular joint disorder clinic

Introduction Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are a common source of facial pain, resulting from an interaction of biopsychosocial factors. However, social risk factors related to TMD have been researched very little, particularly in patients attending a tertiary care service.Aims To review sociodemographic trends among patients referred to a UK tertiary TMD clinic for specialist management. To provide an insight into the sociodemographic risk factors associated with TMD in patients referred for specialist input and to discuss the surrounding literature.Methods Retrospective review of notes of patients referred to a UK tertiary TMD clinic. Trends in areas of deprivation from which patients came from were quantified into deciles using the English Multiple Indices of Deprivation.Results The mean age of patients was 41.1 years, with women being overrepresented compared to men. Most patients were referred by their general dental practitioner, although a variety of secondary care specialties also referred to this service. A disproportionate number of patients came from the highest decile of deprivation, a trend seen throughout the entire sample and in patients seen by dental professionals specifically. There was no apparent association between this and longer symptom duration.Conclusion Women and those from areas with the highest levels of deprivation were overrepresented in this tertiary clinic setting. Dentists should maintain an awareness of the risk factors for TMD development as well as those which may complicate its management in cases requiring specialist input.

Biopsychosocial Factors Predicting Pain Among Individuals Experiencing the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

BACKGROUND

Pain is one of the most common symptoms of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Being both a physical and a psychological experience, pain is affected by many factors, including biological, psychological, and social rather than a single variable.

AIMS

To determine the effects of biological, psychological, and social factors on pain level among participants experiencing with the COVID-19.

DESIGN

A web-based, retrospective, and descriptive study SETTING: Social media sources such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and E-mail PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty-nine participants were included.

METHODS

Data were collected based on the biopsychosocial model. Pain level was evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS). The data were analyzed using descriptive, correlational statistics, and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 32.87 (SD = 11.32) years. The VAS scores were associated with gender (Z = -2.103, p = .035), and chronic disease status (Z = 3.001, p = .003), and the Chalder Fatigue Scale total score (β = 0.718, p < .001) associated with biological factors. The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale scores among psychological factors showed a direct impact on the VAS scores (β = 0.583, p < .001). The Patterns of Activity Measure-Pain total score examined within social factors directly affected the VAS score. The VAS score did not correlate with age, smoking status, hospitalization status, respiratory support, marital status, education level, employment, and income status.

CONCLUSIONS

The pain level in COVID-19 participants was determined by biological, psychological, and social factors. Females and participants with chronic illness, anxiety, fatigue, and low physical activity were found to experience high levels of pain. Education and counseling programs for pain management should be comprehensively structured and include anxiety reduction programs, and fatigue management.

The pain in the Emergency Department: Choosing and treating wisely before and during the COVID-19 era

Pain is a frequent reason for referral to the Emergency Department (ED). Adequate management of pain is a moral and ethical imperative. If not correctly treated, acute pain can cause physical and psychological complications, and become chronic with severe consequences such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation. As consequence, emergency clinicians should treat pain as soon as possible, avoiding delays even in case of acute abdominal pain. Pain management is particularly complex in the elderly and emergency clinicians should always consider AGS Beers criteria ® to avoid inappropriate medications, severe side-effects, and drug-drug interactions. Pain is also a common cause of delirium in older patients. The SARS CoV-2 infection not only can cause acute pain, but also exacerbate chronic pain, particularly in the elderly, who are at high risk to be infected. Looking at all this evidence, emergency clinicians should treat pain with different strategies according to their experience and cultural background, making the right choice for each patient. This work is a critical review of the pain management in the ED, with a particular attention on the effects of COVID-19 in the EDs. We conducted a systematic search of the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Medline from 2000 to 2020, using the keywords of “pain”, “emergency”, “COVID19”, “elderly”, “palliative care”, “ketamine”, “dexmedetomidine”, and “post-traumatic stress disorder”. The aim of this review is to help emergency clinicians to correctly manage pain in the ED with a new point of view regarding the pain management in COVID-19 patients.

Play the Pain: A Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action

The value of understanding patients' illness experience and social contexts for advancing medicine and clinical care is widely acknowledged. However, methodologies for rigorous and inclusive data gathering and integrative analysis of biomedical, cultural, and social factors are limited. In this paper, we propose a digital strategy for large-scale qualitative health research, using play (as a state of being, a communication mode or context, and a set of imaginative, expressive, and game-like activities) as a research method for recursive learning and action planning. Our proposal builds on Gregory Bateson's cybernetic approach to knowledge production. Using chronic pain as an example, we show how pragmatic, structural and cultural constraints that define the relationship of patients to the healthcare system can give rise to conflicted messaging that impedes inclusive health research. We then review existing literature to illustrate how different types of play including games, chatbots, virtual worlds, and creative art making can contribute to research in chronic pain. Inspired by Frederick Steier's application of Bateson's theory to designing a science museum, we propose DiSPORA (Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action), a virtual citizen science laboratory which provides a framework for delivering health information, tools for play-based experimentation, and data collection capacity, but is flexible in allowing participants to choose the mode and the extent of their interaction. Combined with other data management platforms used in epidemiological studies of neuropsychiatric illness, DiSPORA offers a tool for large-scale qualitative research, digital phenotyping, and advancing personalized medicine.

Towards health equity for people experiencing chronic pain and social marginalization

Objective

For people who experience social inequities and structural violence, pain and related care are inexorably linked to experiences of injustice and stigma. The purpose of this study was to examine in greater depth the experiences of pain and discrimination and stigma across diverse marginalized communities in order to recommend equity-oriented healthcare approaches.

Methods

This community-based qualitative study reports on four focus groups that included 36 people living with pain. All participants identified with one of three groups known to experience high levels of inequities and structural violence including an Indigenous group, a LGBTQ2S group, and two newcomer and refugee groups.

Results

Pain was entangled with and shaped by: social locations and identities, experiences of violence, trauma and related mental health issues, experiences of discrimination, stigma and dismissal, experiences of inadequate and ineffective health care, and the impacts of these intersecting experiences.

Conclusions

Equity-oriented responses to chronic pain would recognize pain not only as a biomedical issue but as a social justice issue. The EQUIP Framework is an approach to integrating trauma- and violence-informed care; culturally-safe care; and harm reduction in health care that may hold promise for being tailored to people experiencing pain and social marginalization.

A Consideration of the Psychological Aspects to Managing Patients with Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: An Insight into Pain Management Services at a Tertiary Centre in the UK

Painful diabetic neuropathy (pDN) is characterised by both sensory and affective disturbances, suggesting a complex bidirectional relationship of neuropathic pain and mood disorders. Data on pDN indicate that neuropathic pain reduces quality of life, including mood and physical and social functioning. Depression and pain coping strategies such as catastrophising and social support predict pain severity. There is a significant and reciprocal relationship between depressed mood and increased pain. The key features of assessing people with neuropathic pain in relation to psychological aspects of their health are discussed in the context of management in a tertiary pain management centre (The Walton Centre, Liverpool, UK) including cognitive behavioural interventions amongst others to improve the quality of life in patients with pDN. We consider psychological issues as a factor influencing treatment and outcome in patients with pDN.

Understanding Pain Catastrophizing: Putting Pieces Together

The present narrative review addresses issues concerning the defining criteria and conceptual underpinnings of pain catastrophizing. To date, the concept of pain catastrophizing has been extensively used in many clinical and experimental contexts and it is considered as one of the most important psychological correlate of pain chronicity and disability. Although its extensive use, we are still facing important problems related to its defining criteria and conceptual understanding. At present, there is no general theoretical agreement of what catastrophizing really is. The lack of a consensus on its definition and conceptual issues has important consequences on the choice of the pain management approaches, defining and identifying problems, and promoting novel research. Clinical and research work in absence of a common theoretical ground is often trivial. It is very surprising that clinical and experimental work has grown extensively in the past years, without a common ground in the form of a clear definition of pain catastrophizing and overview of its conceptual basis. Improving the efficacy and efficiency of pan catastrophizing related treatments requires an understanding of the theoretical construct. So far, most interventions have only demonstrated modest effects in reducing pain catastrophizing. Therefore, clarifying the construct may be an important precursor for developing more targeted and effective interventions, thereby easing some of the burden related to this aspect of pain. In our review, we have extracted and de-constructed common elements that emerge from different theoretical models with the aim to understand the concept of catastrophizing, which components can be modulated by psychological interventions, and the general role in pain processing. The analysis of the literature has indicated essential key elements to explain pain catastrophizing: emotional regulation, catastrophic worry (as repetitive negative thinking), rumination, behavioral inhibition and behavioral activation (BIS/BAS) systems, and interoceptive sensitivity. The present paper attempts to integrate these key elements with the aim to re-compose and unify the concept within a modern biopsychosocial interpretation of catastrophizing.

Caring for patients with pain during the COVID-19 pandemic: consensus recommendations from an international expert panel

Chronic pain causes significant suffering, limitation of daily activities and reduced quality of life. Infection from COVID-19 is responsible for an ongoing pandemic that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, leading to systemic complications and death. Led by the World Health Organization, healthcare systems across the world are engaged in limiting the spread of infection. As a result, all elective surgical procedures, outpatient procedures and patient visits, including pain management services, have been postponed or cancelled. This has affected the care of chronic pain patients. Most are elderly with multiple comorbidities, which puts them at risk of COVID-19 infection. Important considerations that need to be recognised during this pandemic for chronic pain patients include: ensuring continuity of care and pain medications, especially opioids; use of telemedicine; maintaining biopsychosocial management; use of anti-inflammatory drugs; use of steroids; and prioritising necessary procedural visits. There are no guidelines to inform physicians and healthcare providers engaged in caring for patients with pain during this period of crisis. We assembled an expert panel of pain physicians, psychologists and researchers from North America and Europe to formulate recommendations to guide practice. As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve rapidly, these recommendations are based on the best available evidence and expert opinion at this present time and may need adapting to local workplace policies.

Pain assessment and management: An audit of practice at a tertiary hospital

BACKGROUND

In spite of advances in techniques and analgesics for pain management, pain remains a major health problem. Regular assessment and reassessment of pain using guidelines with measurable goals is essential for effective pain management in surgical wards. Unfortunately, no such guidelines exist in South Africa. To implement appropriate precepts for the South African context, the current practice must be understood.

AIM

The aim of this article was to evaluate pain assessment and management of patients in two surgical wards at a tertiary hospital in South Africa.

SETTING

The study was conducted within the Western Cape Province of South Africa in a government-funded tertiary academic institution. The patients at this hospital are generally from the low-income strata and live in resource-poor communities.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, retrospective medical record audit was conducted. The folders of all 215 patients admitted to a specific orthopaedic trauma and urogynaecological ward of a tertiary hospital in South Africa over a span of 1 month were targeted for review. Medical folders that were not available or had missing notes were excluded. Variables evaluated included the number of pain assessments recorded, pain assessor, assessment tool and management plan.

RESULTS

A total of 168 folders were available for review. Nearly half of the patients had no documented pain assessment. The Verbal Rating Scale was the predominant tool used, and assessments were mostly conducted by the ward doctor. Pain interventions appeared to be primarily based on the professional knowledge of the practitioner and were not evidence-based.

CONCLUSION

Pain assessment and management was a problem in the two wards reviewed, which is similar to the findings from studies referenced in this text. Health professionals must be empowered to manage pain adequately. An assessment tool that integrates the biopsychosocial factors that influence the pain experience should be routinely employed by a multidisciplinary team to facilitate goal-directed therapy.

Individual differences and health in chronic pain: are sex-differences relevant?

BACKGROUND

Because psychological variables are known to intercorrelate, the goal of this investigation was to compare the unique association between several well-established psychological constructs in pain research and pain-related outcomes. Sex differences are considered because pain is experienced differently across sex groups.

METHODS

Participants were 456 consecutive chronic pain patients attending a tertiary pain clinic (mean age = 58.4 years, SD = 14.8, 63.6% women). The study design was cross-sectional. Psychological constructs included personality (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), irrational thinking (General Attitudes and Beliefs Scale), and coping (Social Problem Solving Inventory). Outcomes were pain severity and interference (Brief Pain Inventory) and physical, general, and mental health status (Short Form-36). To decide whether the bivariate analyses and the two-block, multivariate linear regressions for each study outcome (block 1 = age, sex, and pain severity; block 2 = psychological variables) should be conducted with the whole sample or split by sex, we first explored whether sex moderated the relationship between psychological variables and outcomes. An alpha level of 0.001 was set to reduce the risk of type I errors due to multiple comparisons.

RESULTS

The moderation analyses indicated no sex differences in the association between psychological variables and study outcomes (all interaction terms p > .05). Thus, further analyses were calculated with the whole sample. Specifically, the bivariate analyses revealed that psychological constructs were intercorrelated in the expected direction and mostly correlated with mental health and overall perceived health status. In the regressions, when controlling for age, sex, and pain severity, psychological factors as a block significantly increased the explained variance of physical functioning (ΔR2 = .037, p < .001), general health (ΔR2 = .138, p < .001), and mental health (ΔR2 = .362, p < .001). However, unique associations were only obtained for mental health and neuroticism (β = - 0.30, p < .001) and a negative problem orientation (β = - 0.26, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

There is redundancy in the relationship between psychological variables and pain-related outcomes and the strength of this association is highest for mental health status. The association between psychological characteristics and health outcomes was comparable for men and women, which suggests that the same therapeutic targets could be selected in psychological interventions of pain patients irrespective of sex.

Review of the Management of Pediatric Post-Concussion Syndrome-a Multi-Disciplinary, Individualized Approach

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), when the patient's concussion symptoms last longer than 4-6 weeks, affects 10-30% of concussion patients. PCS presents a significant source of morbidity to patients and a management challenge to providers. In this review, we present the current evidence and best management approaches for pediatric PCS.

RECENT FINDINGS

There is limited high-quality evidence in pediatric PCS. There is some evidence supporting pharmaceutical management of post-traumatic headaches, cognitive symptoms, and emotional symptoms. Vestibular-ocular dysfunction should be evaluated and managed appropriately. Neuropsychological recovery is expected, but requires appropriate attention to Return to Learn. Emotional symptoms are common in PCS and the evidence supports treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy. PCS presents a unique therapeutic challenge affecting multiple domains for patients-physical, sleep, cognitive, and emotional. Successful management of PCS requires a multi-disciplinary and individualized approach. There remains a significant need for further research, specifically looking into the outcomes and effective interventions in pediatric PCS.