# Role of Preoperative Baroreflex Sensitivity on Postoperative and Persistent Pain after Thoracic Surgery

> **NIH NIH R21** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $201,250

## Abstract

The primary goal of this proposal is to establish Baroreflex Sensitivity (BRS) as a biomarker for acute
postoperative pain (POP) and the likelihood of persistent postoperative pain (PPP) at the 3 month
postoperative timepoint in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Our central
hypothesis is that preoperative BRS is inversely associated with the magnitude and duration of POP
during postoperative days 0-2 and the likelihood of PPP at 3 months throughout the postoperative
observation by influencing nociceptive processing and surgically-induced inflammation. If this central
hypothesis is confirmed then future interventional studies designed to enhance BRS will be developed with
the goal of optimizing perioperative outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932521
- **Project number:** 5R21NS112912-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph P Mathew
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $201,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932521

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932521, Role of Preoperative Baroreflex Sensitivity on Postoperative and Persistent Pain after Thoracic Surgery (5R21NS112912-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932521. Licensed CC0.

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