Fig. 1

NCIQ total score. The three boxplots represent the scores from the three conditions of answering the questionnaires: preoperative acute (t₀), preoperative retrospective (pre-t₁, then-test), and postoperative acute (post-t₁). Each boxplot shows the total range from minimum to maximum values, the first and third quartile, the median (i.e., second quartile, bold horizontal line) and the mean value (diamond). Three differences, i.e., changes in responses, can be calculated between the three conditions: 1) the post-t₁ scores minus the t₀ scores (A), 2) the pre-t₁ (then-test) scores minus the t₀ scores (B), 3) the post-t₁ scores minus the pre-t₁ (then-test) scores (C)