Pain Research and Treatment最新文献

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to describe vulnerability and resilience and possible subgroups in patients with chronic work related musculoskeletal pain in occupational healthcare. A second aim was to evaluate a patient-centered approach.

Methods: This study was based on consecutive patients with chronic pain, seen by the same physician and sick-listed full or part time three months or longer. They were included during a period of three months. Patient reported outcome measures (PROM) were administered at baseline and at follow-up after 8 months. A patient-centered approach was applied where the patient's whole situation was taken into account.

Results: A dominance of an insecure dismissing attachment pattern and a subnormal sense of coherence (SOC) was reported both at baseline and at follow-up. The patients (n=38) reported significant improvement of pain severity (p=0.01), pain interference (p=0.001), life control (p=0.01), affective distress (p=0.02), and dysfunction (p=0.001) on the multidimensional pain inventory (MPI) and fewer patients were sick-listed full time at follow-up (13 patients versus 21). By means of multivariate data analyses this change in MPI was confirmed and was also correlated with a significant increase in health related quality of life (HRQoL). Moreover subgroups with different outcome at follow-up were identified according to attachment pattern and subgroups on MPI.

Conclusion: A patient-centered approach may be of value for patients with chronic pain in occupational healthcare, improving pain and dysfunction. Patients with chronic pain are a heterogeneous group where outcome of treatment might be influenced by individual resilience and/or vulnerability.

Backgrounds: Primary osteoarthritis of the proximal interphalangeal joints (PIPJ) is a common entity. It could be associated with local pain that has no effective treatment. Local subcutaneous periarticular injection of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) was evaluated in a prospective case-control study.

Methods: Patients with painful osteoarthritis of the PIPJ for more than 1 month not responding to nonsteroidal meds were prospectively recruited. Radiographic, demographic, clinical, and lab parameters were documented. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was documented regarding the level of PIPJ pain prior to the injection. Patients had local subcutaneous periarticular injection at the medial and lateral sides of each painful PIPJ of one hand, of 8 mg (0.2 ml) of MPA mixed with 0.1 ml of lidocaine 1% (group 1) at each side. Age- and sex-matched control group were given 0.3 ml of normal saline using the same approach (group 2) at each side. VAS was evaluated 1, 4, and 10 weeks following the injection and compared to baseline levels using Wilcoxon's ranks signed test.

Results: Eighteen and sixteen patients were recruited in group 1 and group 2, respectively. There were 11 females in group 1 with mean age of 52.7 ± 9.2 years. Mean VAS in group 1 at baseline was 67 and at weeks 1, 4, and 10 was 23 (p=0.001), 29 (p=0.001), and 55 (p=0.043), respectively. Mean VAS in group 2 at baseline was 65 and at weeks 1, 4, and 10 was 43 (p=0.005), 64 (p=0.534), and 69 (0.698), respectively.

Conclusions: Subcutaneous periarticular injection of MPA + lidocaine at the PIP joints resulted in a small but significant improvement that gradually diminished with time across the week 10, among patients with primary OA of hands.

Poor emotional awareness (EA) seems to play an important role in the aetiology of functional somatic complaints featuring pain as a form of somatisation. The aim of this study was to shed more light on this relationship by investigating the links between pain, somatisation, and emotional awareness in a nonclinical population of 445 children aged 6-10. Assessing pain through the Children's Somatisation Inventory (CSI), a very high percentage of the entire sample complained of experiencing pain at least one site (84.07%) over the preceding 2 weeks. Although no difference in the prevalence of pain (whole) was found when the sample was subdivided by Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale-Children (LEAS-C), a relationship between low level of LEAS-Self and prevalence of headache (H) was detected (χ2=7.69, p=0.02). LEAS (Self) was correlated with the intensity of back pain (BP) (r=-0.12; p< 0.05), H (r=-0.12; p< 0.05) but not with abdominal pain (AP). Pain worsened QoL, and the greatest negative correlation with total KidScreen-10 was found for abdominal pain (r=-0.14; p< 0.01). Our results suggest that low EA is a predictor of somatisation, BP severity, H, and severity of pain in general, but not AP.

Abnormal uterine bleeding in women aged 35 years or over is an important clinical sign of many gynecological conditions. The diagnoses of these conditions require the pathological report of the endometrial tissue. Outpatient-based endometrial biopsy is an excellent option compared to standard fractional uterine curettage or hysteroscopy with endometrial biopsy in providing a definite diagnosis for abnormal uterine bleeding as it is less painful and does not require high potency anesthesia. This study evaluates the effect of intrauterine lidocaine on the patient's pain score during endometrial biopsy by the Novak curette. We included patients aged 35 years or more who had abnormal uterine bleeding between December 2016 and March 2018. The study was conducted at Thammasat University Hospital, Pathum Thani, Thailand. 250 patients were randomly allocated to either receive intrauterine lidocaine (study group) or normal saline (control group). Assessment of pain severity was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) score at 6 time-points, namely, before performing the procedure, when grasping the cervix by the tenaculum, during the intrauterine instillation of lidocaine or normal saline, during the uterine curettage, and then 15 minutes and 2 hours after the procedure. This study showed that there was significant pain reduction in patients who received intrauterine instillation of lidocaine compared to placebo, during uterine curettage, as well as 15 minutes and 2 hours after procedure (p<0.0001). Patient satisfaction was not significantly different between the two groups, while physician satisfaction significantly improved in the lidocaine group. Serious complications were not found during this study. (This research project had been approved for registration at Thai Clinical Trials Registry. TCTR identification number is TCTR20161031003.).

Abnormal vaginal bleeding is one of the most frequent problems found in gynecology. Endometrial histopathology is needed for definite diagnosis. It was obtained either from endometrial tissue sampling or from standard uterine curettage. Office endometrial tissue sampling is an easy and low morbid procedure. It is usually associated with pain and discomfort. Topical anesthetic agent is needed for pain relieving. This study was conducted in outpatient gynecology clinic, Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand. It was a double blind randomized controlled trial. A total of 140 participants were enrolled in study and control group. Each group consisted of 70 cases. Study group received topical spray of 10% lidocaine (40 mg) before endometrial aspiration. Topical spray of 0.9% normal saline was performed in control group. Novak curettage was an application for endometrial tissue obtaining in this study. Visual analog scale (10cm-VAS) was used for pain evaluation. Demographic character of both groups showed no statistical difference. The percentage of participants who had severe pain (VAS≥7) during tenaculum application and Novak curettage insertion and during procedure were 28.5% (20/70) versus 12.9% (9/70), 55.7% (39/70) versus 38.5% (27/70), and 78.5% (55/70) versus 60% (42/70) in control and study group, respectively. Both groups had no significant differences of postoperative pain at 15 minutes and 2 hours. This study indicates that topical lidocaine spray can relieve pain during endometrial tissue sampling.

Introduction: Opioids are the most important drugs in treating pain in palliative care patients. Transdermal formulations are especially useful due to their noninvasive nature and minimal interference in daily life. However, studies have shown a controversial relationship of opioids to survival and a rise in deaths associated with the use of transdermal opioids. Although applying precise doses is paramount, we have no clear recommendations for the exact equianalgesic ratio for buprenorphine patch and no recommendation for the type of transdermal opioid to use in hospice.

Methods: We analyzed the differences between the transdermal fentanyl and buprenorphine group by analyzing patient characteristics and evaluating the differences in survival in hospice patients over the age of 65, from 2013 to 2017.

Results: A total of 292 patients (75.8%) used fentanyl patch and 93 (24.1%) were on buprenorphine patch. Patients had virtually the same characteristics in both groups. However, when using a 1:100 buprenorphine equianalgesic ratio, there were significant differences in initial and final doses, and it seems that a 1:80 conversion rate is more accurate for elderly hospice patients. Finally, there was no difference in survival between the two groups using transdermal opioids, with or without adjuvant analgesics.

Discussion: There were no differences in survival between the group using transdermal fentanyl and the group using buprenorphine in the elderly hospice population. Although adjuvant NSAIDs could be useful in the treatment of pain in terminal cancer, they do not affect survival or reduce the opioid doses, while a 1:80 equianalgesic ratio of buprenorphine might be the most appropriate in this population.

Introduction: In this study we are aiming to evaluate the changes of serum serotonin and its association with pain in patients suffering from chronic low back pain before and after lumbar discectomy surgery.

Patients and methods: A prospective study was performed on the patients referring to the outpatient clinic in Besat hospital, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, during 2016. A 2 mL fasting blood sample was collected from each patient at preoperative day 1 and postoperative day 14 and they were measured for level of serum serotonin. Besides, all patients were asked for severity of their low back pain in preoperative day 1 and postoperative day 14 and scored their pain from zero to ten using a Numerical Rating Scale.

Results: Forty patients with the mean age of 47 ± 13 yrs/old (range 25-77) including 15 (37.5%) males were enrolled into the study. The overall mean score of preoperative pain was significantly decreased from 7.4 ± 2.18 (range 4-10) to the postoperative pain score 3.87 ± 2.92 (range 0-10) (P < .001). The overall levels of pre- and postoperative serum serotonin were 3.37 ± 1.27 (range 1.1-6.4) and 3.58 ± 1.32 (range .94-7.1) ng/mL, respectively, with no significant difference (P = .09). The levels of pre- and postoperative serum serotonin were significantly higher in males and patients older than 50 yrs/old compared to the females and patients younger than 50 yrs/old, respectively (P = .03 and .005, respectively). A significant inverse correlation between the postoperative levels of pain and serum serotonin was observed (r = -.36 and P = .02).

Conclusion: A negative medium strength linear relationship may exist between the postoperative serum serotonin and low back pain.

Purpose: In type 2 diabetic patients affected by chronic shoulder pain, subacromial injection with corticosteroid could be an effective treatment. The aim of this study was to measure the risk-benefit ratio of this treatment.

Methods: Twenty patients with well-controlled diabetes were included in a prospective study. In a first preinjection phase, patients were asked to measure glycemia for 7 days, before breakfast and dinner, and then 2 hours after lunch and dinner. Baseline data including Constant Score (CS), Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain were collected. Patients were treated with subacromial injection with 40 mg of Methylprednisolone Acetate and 2 ml of Lidocaine. At discharge, patients were asked to remeasure glycemia for the following week.

Results: The overall pain improved and patients graded their shoulder as "greatly improved". At 30-day follow-up, the SSV and the CS improved, considering pain but not ROM. The average daily glycemia was 136 mg/dl before injection, 161 mg/dl the day of the injection (p<0.001), and 170 mg/dl one day after injection (p<0.001). Glycemia was not statistically different 3 days after injection.

Conclusion: Subacromial injection is an effective short-term treatment in type 2 diabetic patients affected by shoulder pain, but a closed follow-up is recommended in all these patients. This trial is registered with NCT03652480. The Protocol ID is SHOULDERDM2013.

Peripheral nerve stimulation has been used in the treatment of several chronic pain conditions including pain due to peripheral nerve dysfunctions, complex regional pain syndrome, and cranial neuralgias. It has been shown to be effective for chronic, intractable pain that is refractory to conventional therapies such as physical therapy, medications, transcutaneous electrical stimulations, and nerve blocks. Recently, a new generation of peripheral nerve stimulation devices has been developed; these allow external pulse generators to transmit impulses wirelessly to the implanted electrode, and their implantation is significantly less invasive. In this review, we discuss the history, pathophysiology, indications, implantation process, and outcomes of employing peripheral nerve stimulation to treat chronic pain conditions.

Objective: The study objective was to assess the quality of life and satisfaction with treatment of patients with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) who experience breakthrough pain (BTP) and to assess its economic impact.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Fifteen pain units from Spanish hospitals completed the study.

Participants: A total of 124 patients with adequately controlled CNP who experienced BTP were enrolled into the study.

Intervention: No interventions were required.

Main outcome measures: Quality of life was assessed using the SF12 v2 questionnaire, the results of which were used to calculate the estimated costs per patient and month and the SF-6D Health Utility Index. Patient satisfaction with treatment received for CNP and for BTP was assessed using a 10-point visual analogue scale. Other associated symptoms were analyzed using the ESAS (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System).

Results: Patients had a mean age of 60.2 years (95% CI 58.4-63.3), and 46.8% (58) were males. 18.9% (23) experienced their first episode of BTP. A severe impairment of the physical component of SF12v2 was noted, with 94% of patients below the mean score of the population, while 88% had values lower than normal for the mental component. Mean cost per patient and month was $679 and was significantly greater in males ($763 versus $606), 4.96 times greater than in healthy population, and approximately double the cost of patients with CNP in Spain.

Conclusions: Occurrence of BTP in patients with CNP causes a substantial increase in healthcare costs which is significantly greater in older males.