Journal of Current Surgery, ISSN 1927-1298 print, 1927-1301 online, Open Access
Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, J Curr Surg and Elmer Press Inc
Journal website https://jcs.elmerpub.com

Original Article

Volume 000, Number 000, May 2025, pages 000-000


Comparing Pain and Disability Outcomes for Patients Receiving Either Intracostal or Pericostal Closure Technique Following Thoracotomy Incision: Results of a Randomized Trial

Figure

Figure 1.
Figure 1. CONSORT flow diagram of the study population.

Tables

Table 1. In-Hospital Descriptive Statistics
 
Intracostal suture groupPericostal suture groupP valuea% Not applicable
aIndependent-Samples t-test. MME: morphine milligram equivalent.
In-hospital
  Days to ambulation2.00 (1.6)1.56 (1.0)0.330
  Days to first bowel movement2.93 (1.7)2.77 (1.3)0.790
  Days on acute pain service3.47 (1.4)3.56 (2.4)0.96.1
  Days at hospital6.00 (3.0)6.00 (2.9)10
  Days with chest tube3.31 (5.94)2.69 (1.8)0.410
N (%) ≥ 4 or 90 MME
Pain intensity at rest3.11 (1.9)2.57 (2.2)0.459 (27)
Pain intensity during movement3.09 (2.1)3.10 (2.3)0.9911 (33)
Daily opioid consumption17.42 (28.8)9.56 (15.9)0.341 (3)

 

Table 2. Pain Intensity, Pain Disability, and Pain Catastrophizing at Baseline, Discharge, and 3 Months Post-Surgery
 
Group 1 intracostal suturesGroup 2 pericostal suturesP valuea
Mean (SD)% > 0Mean (SD)% > 0
aIndependent-Samples Kruskal-Wallis test; bMcGill Pain Questionnaire-Short Form-2.
Pain intensityb
  Baseline0.24 (0.7)250.51 (1.0)33.30.81
  Discharge1.94 (1.93)93.72.28 (2.3)83.30.86
  3 months post-surgery0.37 (0.5)68.70.51 (1.3)38.90.27
Pain disability
  Baseline2.53 (5.9)28.74.41 (8.9)33.30.49
  Discharge35.69 (22.02)93.733.16 (23.2)83.30.57
  3 months post-surgery10.22 (15.24)68.74.75 (11.5)44.40.21
Pain catastrophizing
  Baseline13.69 (13.0)93.77.65 (7.0)83.30.10
  Discharge10.07 (5.09)10012.81 (12.1)94.40.84
  3 months post-surgery6.18 (7.3)81.26.54 (8.7)32.20.81