Der Schmerz
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In 60 women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy, a total of 420 pain evaluations of postoperative pain intensity were performed by an observer and the patients. Pain intensity was rated by the observer on a visual analogue scale. The patients themselves evaluated their pain on a visual analogue scale and on a 101-point numerical rating scale. ⋯ The correlation between patients' self-assessments and observers' ratings was poor (r (2)=0.28;y=0.66x+31.3). There was also no clear correlation between pain intensity and heart rate or arterial blood pressure. A reliable assessment of pain intensity can only be performed by patients' self-assessment and not by observers' ratings.
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Different therapeutic modalities are available for the treatment of rheumatic pain. The most important one, besides physiotherapy, is medication with analgesics and adjuvant drugs. Analgesics are given orally and by a stepwise approach in keeping with the principles of cancer pain therapy. ⋯ Patients often suffer from constipation, nausea and vomiting, but these side-effects can be treated with laxatives and antiemetic drugs. There is no reason to differentiate between opioid medication in a cancer patient with pain and in a patient with "non-malignant" rheumatic pain. Centrally acting muscle relaxants may be helpful as adjuvant medication in patients with myalgia for example, and tricyclic antidepressants can also be beneficial, especially in neuropathic pain and for patients with psychiatric distress associated with pain.
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At one of the symposia at the 16th congress of the German Society for the Study of Pain in Berlin in 1991 an update on the use of pumps and ports in pain treatment was presented. This article tries to focus on some of the conclusions of this meeding. (1) To avoid neurologial damage only analgesic substances that have been tested in animals and with which we have adequate clinical experience, e.g. opiates, clonidine and baclofen, should be used for spinal anaesthesia. (2) The increasing number of manufactures of pumps, ports, catheters and puncture needles should pay more attention to safety and reliability of their products to avoid technical complications and should try to achieve compatibility between the different accessories such as catheters, needles and connecting pieces. (3) The mode of application (spinal versus epidural, pump versus port or externalized catheter) depends on the predicted period of treatment (spinal application for long-term treatment requires more hygienic precautions) and on differences in the individual care of the patient (4). Spinal opiates for benign pain (in case of failure of less invasive pain regiments) have been tested successfully, but the follow-up is not yet long enough to allow recommendation of this therapy for general use. (5) Local anaesthetics are useful for short-term use. The addition of local anaesthetics for continuous low-flow infusion of opiates requires further comparative studies. (6) Spinal baclofen is effective against pain induced by muscle spasms but not against non-spasticity-related pain syndrome.
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In the Federal Republic of Germany, strict regulations complicate the prescription of strong opioids to patients suffering from severe pain. In summer 1991 the German Association for the Study of Pain launched an initiative directed at simplification of the prescription requirements for such analgesics and submitted the suggestions to the ministries responsible. ⋯ Moreover, the prescriptions are to be simpler to make out and certain exemptions have been specified by law. Acceptance of the bill by the political committees and its realization are expected in autumn 1992.