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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Randomized Controlled Trial
Transdermal nitroglycerin as an adjuvant to patient-controlled morphine analgesia after total knee arthroplasty.
Nitroglycerin (NTG) has been shown to be a useful adjunct for pain treatment without increasing adverse side effects. The effects of NTG on postoperative morphine consumption after knee replacement were evaluated. ⋯ The use of NTG patches conferred no advantage over the use of placebo in patients receiving patient-controlled morphine analgesia after total knee replacement. Two myocardial infarcts occurred in this group. Therefore, the safety of postoperative NTG patch use for pain control must be questioned.
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Clinical Trial
Ultra low-dose naloxone and tramadol/acetaminophen in elderly patients undergoing joint replacement surgery: a pilot study.
A pilot study was conducted to assess whether both the rationale and feasibility exist for future randomized clinical trials to evaluate the combined use of naloxone infusion and tramadol/acetaminophen as opioid-sparing drugs in elderly patients undergoing lower extremity joint replacement surgery. ⋯ Consequently, a randomized, double-blinded clinical trial comparing standard therapy versus standard therapy plus these two drugs seems warranted. In such a trial, it would require approximately 20 subjects per treatment arm to detect a 80% decrease in morphine use.
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The present paper provides a short, practical introduction to children's self-report measures of pain intensity, followed by an overview of principles and issues. Details on individual self-report scales were previously reported in a landmark systematic review in 2006 and will not be repeated here. ⋯ Also highlighted are areas in which there has been progress and a lack of progress since the last time this topic was featured at the International Forum on Pediatric Pain in 1996. The present article closes with an outline of key areas for further research on children's self-report of pain and a brief summary of recommendations for clinicians.
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Review Historical Article
Assessing pain by facial expression: facial expression as nexus.
The experience of pain is often represented by changes in facial expression. Evidence of pain that is available from facial expression has been the subject of considerable scientific investigation. The present paper reviews the history of pain assessment via facial expression in the context of a model of pain expression as a nexus connecting internal experience with social influence. ⋯ Applications of facial assessment in the study of adult and pediatric pain are also reviewed, focusing on how such techniques facilitate the discovery and articulation of novel phenomena. Emerging applications of facial assessment in clinical settings are also described. Alternative techniques that have the potential to overcome barriers to the application of facial assessment arising out of its resource intensiveness are described and evaluated, including recent work on computer- based automatic assessment.