Nonpharmacological Interventions for Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome—A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective: Literature regarding nonpharmacological interventions (NPI) for PMPS or CP after mastectomy is scarce and not fully appraised, therefore we conducted this systematic review to explore the current panorama of treatment options. Methods: A systematic review to assess the existing evidence regarding nonpharmacological approaches for PMPS. We reviewed the following databases: PubMed—MEDLINE, Embase, and Ovid (including the Cochrane Database for Clinical studies) using the following search terms: CP, mastectomy, and PMPS, and adjusted the terms depending on the database used. We included observational studies including case reports, cross sectional studies, cohort studies, and clinical trials (randomized or not) that included a NPI to treat PMPS. Results: Total 1061 records were identified. After duplicate elimination, 863 records were screened for eligibility. A total of 717 records were excluded using our criteria, 138 records were sought for retrieval, and 117 full text records were assessed. Finally, 30 studies were included: seven case series, one cross-sectional study, two cohort studies, one case-control study, five nonrandomized clinical trials, ten randomized clinical trials (RCT), one qualitative study, and three systematic reviews of the literature, including two meta analyses, were included. Discussion: Findings suggest that there is a great response of patients to some NPI. Regarding surgical interventions, autologous fat grafting and lymph node transplantation showed to have the greatest benefit for patients in terms of quality of life and reduced pain scores. Pulsed radiofrequency demonstrated the highest quality of evidence for energy related procedures. Within the physical therapy interventions, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation and dry needling showed the greatest benefit. Finally, virtual reality demonstrated the greatest benefit in educational interventions.