Do genetic factors improve prediction of postherniotomy pain?

Belfer et al.2 report that a combination of genetic and clinical factors predicts postoperative pain. Indeed, their In Brief summary states that “Functional polymorphisms in COMT and GCH1 contribute to persistent pain-related impairment after groin herniotomy. Including them into a multivariable prediction model improved its predictive power.” This would be the first study to demonstrate this, so the data are of note. Except that, the data reported in the article do not support the above summary provided by the authors.