The association between preoperative intolerance of uncertainty and postoperative pain intensity after surgery for lumbar disc herniation

The present study examined the relationship between postoperative pain and intolerance of uncertainty in patients undergoing surgery for lumbar disc herniation. The a prospective observational study was conducted from December 2023 to June 2024. The study team defined the study population as patients who underwent lumbar disc herniation surgery at a university hospital; the sample comprised 130 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Research data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12), and the Numerical Pain Rating Scale. Analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0. The mean age of the patients who participated in the study was 50.50 ± 13.28 years, and 53.1% of the patients were female. The mean total score on the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS) was 40.14 ± 7.98. The mean scores on the Prospective Anxiety Subscale (PAS) and the Inhibitory Anxiety Subscale (IAS) were 23.77 ± 4.50 and 16.36 ± 3.79, respectively. The simple linear regression analysis showed that intolerance to uncertainty explained 45.3% of the variance in pain levels (t = 10.301, p < 0.001). The findings of the study indicate that intolerance to uncertainty is associated with increased pain. Considering the numerous physiological and psychological effects of pain, it may be advisable to identify patients who exhibit intolerance to uncertainty and monitor them more closely for pain management.