Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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Most children aged five years and older can provide meaningful self-reports of pain intensity if they are provided with age-appropriate tools and training. Self-reports of pain intensity are an oversimplification of the complexity of the experience of pain, but one that is necessary to evaluate and titrate pain-relieving treatments. ⋯ The pain intensity scales most commonly used with children - faces scales, numerical rating scales, visual analogue scales and others - are briefly introduced. The selection, limitations and interpretation of self-report scales are discussed.
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The case of a seven-year-old boy with chronic pruritus secondary to a giant congenital melanocytic nevus is presented. The pruritus did not respond to conventional antipruritic drug treatment, but responded to ondansetron, a selective antagonist of 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptors.
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According to clinical studies, the stimulation of acupuncture points (APs) by a variety of methods (eg, needles, pressure, etc) is an effective method for the treatment of many pain syndromes. However, no experimental proof exists showing that the exposure of APs to low-intensity incoherent polarized (P) light evokes an analgesic affect. ⋯ The results show the efficacy of pain suppression by exposure of antinociceptive APs to P light.
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Little is known about pain-related outcomes in surgical inpatients after discharge from the hospital. An ongoing risk and outcomes monitoring system would provide valuable feedback to improve the quality of patient care. ⋯ The study indicates that it is feasible to link clinical and research data, and shows a significant burden of pain and reduced HRQOL in the weeks following discharge. This approach to converting clinically captured data into meaningful information about surgical outcomes is valuable in the development of an ongoing risk and outcomes monitoring system.