The Clinical journal of pain
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Couple interventions for chronic pain have been shown to more effectively reduce pain intensity for individuals with chronic pain (ICPs) than individual behavioral interventions or usual care. This systematic review identified randomized controlled trials of couple interventions to highlight strategies that could be incorporated into psychotherapy with ICPs and their romantic partners. ⋯ This review outlined strategies included in couple interventions for chronic pain that are derived from the cognitive-behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and operant behavioral traditions, but delivered relationally. Therapists working with ICPs and their partners may integrate these strategies into their practice to help couples who are managing chronic pain.
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Meta Analysis
Efficacy and Safety of Low-dose Codeine Containing Combination Analgesics for Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
To investigate the efficacy and safety of combination analgesic products containing low-dose codeine (up to 30 mg/dose) for pain. ⋯ There is low to moderate level evidence that combination analgesic products containing low-dose codeine provide small to moderate pain relief for acute and chronic pain conditions in the immediate short term with limited trial data on use beyond 24 hours. Further research examining regular use of these medicines is needed with more emphasis on measuring potential harmful effects.
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The nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) is a spinal reflex induced by painful stimuli resulting in a withdrawal response. Research has shown that the NFR is inhibited through endogenous pain inhibitory mechanisms, which can be assessed by conditioned pain modulation (CPM) paradigms. Although accumulating research suggests that the NFR can be affected by CPM, no clear overview of the current evidence exists. Therefore, the present review aimed at providing such a synthesis of the literature. In addition, the influence of personal factors on the CPM of the NFR was investigated. ⋯ The present review demonstrates that certain types of nociceptive conditioning stimuli have the potential to depress, at the spinal level, nociceptive stimuli elicited from distant body regions. Although CPM of the NFR seems to be robust to the influence of several personal factors, it can be affected by cognitive influences.
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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain often co-occur, introducing clinical challenges and economic burden. Psychological treatments are considered effective for each condition, yet it is not known which therapies have the potential to concurrently address PTSD and pain-related symptoms. ⋯ Findings indicated that the majority of the interventions appeared to have a greater impact on reducing PTSD rather than pain-related symptoms. There remains a need to further develop interventions that consistently impact PTSD and pain-related outcomes when these 2 conditions co-occur.
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Measuring pain in infants is important but challenging, as there is no "gold standard." The measurement of skin conductance (SC) is considered to be a measure of stress and as a surrogate indicator of pain. The objectives of this study were to identify the extent of research conducted and to synthesize the validity evidence of SC for assessing acute pain in infants. ⋯ Inconsistent findings on validity of SC exist. Future research should aim to identify the diagnostic test accuracy of SC compared with well-accepted referent pain measures in infants, study the validity evidence of SC in critically ill infants, and utilize rigorous research design and transparent reporting.