European journal of pain : EJP
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Pre-medication with sublingual fentanyl did not relieve pain associated with bone marrow aspiration and biopsy: A randomized feasibility trial.
Bone marrow aspiration and/or biopsy (BMAB) is often an unpleasant and painful procedure in spite of local anaesthetic infiltration. This randomized placebo-controlled trial compared the pain relieving effect of sublingual fentanyl and placebo during BMAB. ⋯ The results suggest that sublingual fentanyl in a dose of 200 μg (100 μg in infirm patients) is not a feasible preventive analgesic during BMAB. Pain scores were similar and side effects more frequent in the fentanyl group than in the placebo group.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
H-coil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for pain relief in patients with diabetic neuropathy.
Painful neuropathy is associated with plasticity changes in the nervous system. Standard repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive technique used to study changes in cortical excitability and to inhibit pain perception. Deep rTMS is a newer development that allows direct activation of deeper neuronal populations, by a unique coil design termed the H-coil. This study was designed to assess whether deep rTMS applied over the motor cortical lower-limb representation relieves pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy. ⋯ Deep H-coil rTMS provides pain relief in patients with diabetic neuropathy. This innovative technique can induce a therapeutic effect on brain areas that otherwise remain difficult to target. rTMS may produce its analgesic effects, inducing motor cortex plasticity and activating descending inhibitory pain control systems.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The role of excess subcutaneous fat in pain and sensory sensitivity in obesity.
Previous studies suggest pain sensitivity may be decreased in obesity, but it is unknown whether this is a global or a site-specific phenomenon related to the amount of excess fat. ⋯ Obese participants are less sensitive than non-obese individuals, but only on areas with excess subcutaneous fat.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Validity evidence for the back beliefs questionnaire in the general population.
Despite common usage of the back beliefs questionnaire (BBQ) in a variety of studies, important validity evidence is missing. The objective of this study was to examine the validity of the BBQ in the general population. ⋯ This study provides strong validity evidence supporting the current structure and scoring of the BBQ. In addition, construct validity was evidenced by the behaviour of BBQ scores in a manner congruent with our hypotheses, further supporting use of the BBQ in the general population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Analgesic efficacy and safety of the novel p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, losmapimod, in patients with neuropathic pain following peripheral nerve injury: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase are undergoing evaluation as a novel class of anti-rheumatic drugs, by virtue of their ability to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Emerging data suggests that they may also attenuate peripheral or central sensitization in neuropathic pain. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was undertaken to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of losmapimod (GW856553), a novel p38α/β inhibitor, in subjects with neuropathic pain following traumatic peripheral nerve injury. ⋯ Losmapimod could not be differentiated from placebo in terms of a primary analgesia response in patients with pain following peripheral nerve injury. The lack of response could reflect inadequate exposure at central sites of action or differences between rodent and human with respect to the target or neuropathic pain mechanisms.