The Clinical journal of pain
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Clinical Trial
Is interfascial block with ultrasound-guided puncture useful in treatment of myofascial pain of the trapezius muscle?
Ultrasound-guided puncture is indispensable for the injection of local anesthetic in the interfascial space, the space between 2 muscle fasciae. Interfascial infiltration or block may be useful in treating myofascial pain in the trapezius muscle. ⋯ The anatomical, histological, and ultrasound findings in the cadaver study confirmed the diffusion of the solution in the interfascial space. Study in patients confirms that the interfascial block in the back musculature can be as effective as in the abdominal musculature. The presence of nerve structures in this space, confirmed by the histological study, seems to explain the pain relief reported by the patients with this interfascial technique.
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Measuring outcomes across multiple domains is essential for an adequate understanding of chronic pain and the effects of pain treatment. Pain interference reflects the negative effects of pain on functioning, and is recognized as a critical outcome domain. The Pain Disability Assessment Scale (PDAS) contains items that assess the negative effects of pain on broad spectrum pain interference domains. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the PDAS. ⋯ The PDAS may be useful when researchers or clinicians require a multidimensional measure of the effects of pain on a patient's life.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Treatment expectation for pain coping skills training: relationship to osteoarthritis patients' baseline psychosocial characteristics.
This study examined predictors of treatment expectation among osteoarthritis (OA) patients in a multisite clinical trial of pain coping skills training (CST). ⋯ Although many OA patients will approach pain CST with positive expectations, others have lower expectations. This study suggests that a multidimensional assessment of OA patients with chronic pain can identify those who have higher expectations versus lower expectations. The results suggest that patients who are psychologically distressed are less optimistic about engaging in treatment and that these patients, in particular, may benefit from and need pretreatment motivational interviewing to enhance their uptake of pain coping skills.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Preemptive low-dose epidural ketamine for preventing chronic postthoracotomy pain: a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, clinical trial.
Chronic postthoracotomy pain is the most common long-term complication that occurs after a thoracotomy with a reported incidence of up to 80%. Although thoracic epidural analgesia is a widely used method for managing acute postthoracotomy pain, its effects seems questionable. The objective of this prospective, double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial was to assess the effect of preemptive low-dose epidural ketamine in addition to preemptive thoracic epidural analgesia on the incidence of chronic postthoracotomy pain. ⋯ The addition of preemptive low-dose epidural ketamine (1.2 mg/h) to preemptive thoracic epidural analgesia did not have any beneficial effects in preventing chronic postthoracotomy pain.
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Review Case Reports
Bilateral cervicothoracic transforaminal blood patches for persistent headache from spontaneous intracranial hypotension: a case report and review.
Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is an uncommon cause of headache that can be challenging to treat and can have serious clinical consequences. When symptoms persist despite conservative treatment, an interlaminar epidural blood patch is often performed, but may not be effective. ⋯ In this clinical report, we describe a case of spontaneous intracranial hypotension caused by a ventral dural tear at the cervicothoracic junction. Our patient suffered from recalcitrant postural headaches despite undergoing conventional interlaminar epidural blood patches. Bilateral transforaminal epidural blood patches were performed in order to deliver blood to the ventral epidural space at the site of the tear identified on magnetic resonance imaging. The transforaminal technique may be useful in patients who have failed conventional treatment, though a high degree of interventional experience and vigilance is required to safely perform this procedure.