Fellowships - Cheryl Chow

Fellowships - Cheryl Chow

Cheryl Chow, MSc, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow

Project Title: Predictors and Trajectories of Pediatric Postsurgical Pain

Supervisor: Dr. Norm Buckley & Dr. Louis Schmidt

Brief Overview and Progress to Date

Postsurgical pain affects up to one in five children undergoing surgery in Canada each year. It is associated with a myriad of adverse clinical, psychological and developmental sequelae including increased analgesic use, delirium, delayed recovery, and fear of future medical care. Although the impact of CPSP in adults is well-established, the literature on CPSP in children remains largely unclear and incomplete. The extrapolation from adult data is limiting because children experience, express and perceive pain differently than adults. To date, only a handful of studies have described the course of pediatric CPSP and no studies have examined the predictors and trajectories of pediatric postsurgical pain using objective and valid neurophysiological measures. Given these shortcomings and needs, the proposed project will aim to establish biological, psychological, and social predictors of the development on pediatric CPSP and its trajectory. Moreover, this will be the first study to examine the associations between biomarkers (i.e., EEG, cortisol and heart rate) and pain in pediatric surgery. The findings of this project may help to clarify the roles of anxiety, stress and parental factors on acute and persistent postsurgical pain. This study has the potential to guide future research on the development of preventive interventions in managing pediatric postsurgical pain.

The IPRC fellowship provides me with great opportunities to work with and learn from experts across a wide range of clinical and research skills. I have been able to establish multi-national collaborations and to gain more in-depth knowledge about pediatric pain.