The Clinical journal of pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Assessment of pain quality in a clinical trial of gabapentin extended release for postherpetic neuralgia.
To replicate and extend previous research concerning the validity and utility of using pain quality measures in clinical trials. ⋯ The results provide further support for the importance of assessing specific pain qualities as outcomes in clinical trials. The findings may also be used by clinicians for identifying those patients for whom G-ER may be particularly effective; that is, patients with postherpetic neuralgia presenting with pain described as sharp, dull, sensitive, or itchy.
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Comparative Study
Comparing diary and retrospective reports of pain and activity restriction in children and adolescents with chronic pain conditions.
The current study investigated the daily relationship between pain, activity restriction, and depression in children and adolescents with chronic pain, and compared participants' responses on diary and retrospective assessment measures. ⋯ These preliminary results suggest that although retrospective reports of activity restriction may be an acceptable alternative to daily diary assessment for children with chronic pain, retrospective measures of pain intensity may show inflated pain levels. To provide support for the findings, longitudinal research comparing responses to diary versus retrospective measures is recommended.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Acupuncture in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized controlled trial.
To investigate the efficacy of acupuncture compared with steroid treatment in patients with mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) as measured by objective changes in nerve conduction studies (NCS) and subjective symptoms assessment in a randomized, controlled study. ⋯ Short-term acupuncture treatment is as effective as short-term low-dose prednisolone for mild-to-moderate CTS. For those who do have an intolerance or contraindication for oral steroid or for those who do not opt for early surgery, acupuncture treatment provides an alternative choice.
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Managing multiple chronic health conditions is a significant challenge. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience and management of chronic pain among adult patients with other complex chronic conditions, specifically diabetes and heart failure (HF). ⋯ Chronic pain is a prevalent problem that is associated with poor functioning among multimorbid patients. Better management of chronic pain among complex patients could lead to significant improvements in health status, functioning, and quality of life and possibly also improve the management of their other major chronic health conditions.
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Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a severe chronic pain condition characterized by sensory, autonomic, motor, and dystrophic signs and symptoms. This study was undertaken to expand our current knowledge of the evolution of CRPS signs and symptoms with duration of disease. ⋯ This study shows that although CRPS is a progressive disease, after 1 year, the majority of the signs and symptoms were well developed and although many variables worsen over the course of the illness, the majority demonstrated only moderate increases with disease duration.