The Clinical journal of pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Investigating the Effects of Cuing Medication Availability on Patient-controlled Analgesia Pump Usage in Pediatric Patients: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
The study of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) behaviors has led to a greater understanding of factors that affect the pain experience. Although PCA behaviors can be influenced by cues to medication availability, no studies have examined the effects of such cues in pediatric populations. ⋯ The overall pattern of results suggests that patients in the light group used their PCA in response to the light more than in response to their pain, which likely reflects operant influences on PCA behavior by pediatric patients.
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Pathophysiologic mechanisms underpinning ongoing pain in whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) are not well understood, however, alterations in brain morphology and function have been observed in this population and in other chronic pain conditions. This study investigated metabolite profiles of brain regions in people with chronic WAD compared with controls. ⋯ These results suggest that ongoing pain and disability in this population may not be underpinned by metabolite aberrations in the brain regions examined. Further research is required to progress our understanding of cortical contributions to neurophysiologic mechanisms in chronic WAD.
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Pain is prevalent among youth with sickle cell disease (SCD). However, previous research has been limited by small sample sizes and lacked examinations of developmental differences in pain, which are critical to minimizing the development of chronic pain as youth transition into adulthood. The primary aim of the current study was to compare pain and pain interference across 4 developmental groups in a large sample of youth with SCD. The secondary aim was to identify risk factors for greater pain and pain interference. ⋯ Disease and treatment-related variables were not associated with pain. Self-reported pain was elevated in older versus younger developmental groups and was largely linked to anxiety, fatigue, and perceptions of pain management, thus highlighting the modifiable nature of factors influencing pain among youth with SCD.