Pain trajectories, progress and perspectives

Even after decades of investigation, the transition from acute pain to chronic pain is only partially understood [1]. Surgery is a specific model to study this transition, combining programmed trauma, expected resolution and its correlate, a possible dysfunction leading to the transition to the chronic state [2]. Interfering factors may exist, including a degree of vulnerability (related to the patient, i.e. medical history, comorbidities, genetics, but also iatrogenic factors, such as poor control of perioperative pain) with many open questions (such as the role of the specific means of preventing or treating pain, the role of opioids during and after surgery, the importance of patient education and the role of postoperative strategies)