The Clinical journal of pain
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Phantom limb pain can be challenging to treat. We present a patient who developed severe phantom limb pain after revision of her lower extremity amputation due to the continued progression of peripheral vascular disease. Multiple treatment modalities had been tried without success. Pulsed radiofrequency has been successfully used to manage a number of pain syndromes. ⋯ Our report shows that the sciatic nerve block with bupivicaine and clonidine, initiated approximately 3 years after amputation, produced modest short-term relief. The pulsed radiofrequency treatment resulted in long-term relief of phantom limb pain. The patient was able to wean herself off all oral medications and has been pain free for 4 months.
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Primary: to examine the association between perceived spouse responses to patient well behaviors and important patient variables (pain behavior, pain intensity, pain interference, and depressive symptoms). Secondary: to examine whether perceived spouse responses to patient pain behaviors are associated with important pain-related variables. ⋯ Perceptions of spouse responses to patient well behaviors seem to have important associations with patient functioning, yet have received insufficient research attention. The Spouse Response Inventory (SRI) thus represents a valuable addition to available research instruments because it assesses spouse responses to well behaviors.
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This study aims to investigate correlates of pain-related empathic accuracy in spouses of chronic pain patients. Specifically, analyses addressed: (1) the correlates of pain-related empathic accuracy, (2) the relation between pain-related empathic accuracy, and patient and spouse adaptational outcomes, and (3) the relation between pain-related empathic accuracy and relational outcomes. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that empathic accuracy is associated with negative outcomes for the patient, and might not be an important correlate of marital satisfaction in couples in which one of the partners is suffering from chronic pain.
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The communication impairments that characterize severe dementia make pain assessment challenging. As such, pain problems often go undetected. Our goal was to determine whether systematic pain assessment leads to improved pain management practices and decreases nursing stress in comparison with a control condition. ⋯ This investigation provides strong support for both the importance of systematic pain assessment in long-term care and for the clinical utility of the PACSLAC in improving pain management practices and decreasing caregiver distress.
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Comparative Study
A comparison of the neuroablative effects of conventional and pulsed radiofrequency techniques.
To compare the neuroablative effects of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) and conventional radiofrequency (CRF) techniques on the sciatic nerve, a peripheral nerve that includes motor, sensory, and autonomous fibers. ⋯ Nerve tissues can be affected during any type of procedure, even during surgical applications. Our results suggest that PRF is less destructive than CRF for the peripheral nerves. However, this idea should also be investigated at the molecular level, and safety analysis should be performed for routine clinical practice.