Predictors of short-term and long-term memory of sensory and affective dimensions of pain

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to establish predictors of the dimensions of pain intensity and pain unpleasantness recalled at 1 week and 18 months after an invasive therapeutic procedure, root canal therapy (RCT). Pretreatment measures of mood state and RCT-related expectations of sensory and affective dimensions of pain by using a visual analog scale (VAS) format were obtained. VAS measures of experienced pain intensity and unpleasantness were obtained immediately after treatment. Patients' memory of their RCT-related pain intensity and unpleasantness was assessed by phone call. Regression analysis showed that after controlling for age, experienced pain intensity predicts 1-week memory of pain intensity (adjusted R2 = .34, P < .01), whereas patients' pretreatment affective state predicts the memory of pain intensity at 18 months (adjusted R2 = .24, P < .01) and the memory of pain unpleasantness at 1 week (adjusted R2 = .40, P < .01) and 18 months (adjusted R2 = .62, P < .01). These findings point to the contribution of preexisting affective state to the sensory and affective dimensions of pain recollection and illustrate the importance of anxiety management for minimizing patient's long-term recollection of the aversiveness of outpatient medical and dental procedures. © 2003 by the American Pain Society.