European journal of pain : EJP
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Black and white pain drawings were introduced as a proposed means to identify patients, presenting with low back pain, who demonstrated functional overlay upon neurological testing. The use of color may enhance the usefulness of such pain drawings, but has not been described for adult patients. ⋯ Our findings agree with previous observations using black and white pain drawings, indicating that colored pain drawings are no less useful than the black and white approach. Further research is necessary to examine the psychometric properties and clinical usefulness of colored pain drawings to predict outcomes and/or determine treatment.
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of children's pain at home following (adeno)tonsillectomies. The subjects were parents of 161 children (86 boys, 75 girls) undergoing myringotomies, adenoidectomies and (adeno)tonsillectomies. The mean age of the children was 5.5 years (SD=2.4; range 1-14). ⋯ Furthermore, parents reported pain-related problems like problems regarding eating, fluid intake, vomiting and sleep disturbance. Finally, 67% of the children at home recalled severe pain experience in the hospital. It was concluded that especially following (adeno)tonsillectomies children suffer clinically significant pain at home and that the management of pain and related problems needs to be clearly improved.
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The purpose was to investigate the influence of ongoing pain from an inflammatory nociceptive pain with two different disease durations on somatosensory functions and the effect of heterotopic noxious conditioning stimulation (HNCS) on 'diffuse noxious inhibitory controls' (DNIC) related mechanisms. Eleven patients with rheumatoid arthritis of a short duration (<1 year) (RA1), and 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis of longer duration (>5 years) (RA5) as well as 21 age- and sex-matched healthy controls participated. Pressure pain sensitivity, low threshold mechanoreceptive function and thermal sensitivity, including thermal pain, were assessed over a painful and inflamed joint as well as in a pain-free area, i.e. the right thigh before HNCS (cold-pressor test) and repeated at the thigh only during and following HNCS. ⋯ In conclusion, over an inflamed joint allodynia to pressure was found in both RA groups, with additional sensory abnormalities in RA5. In a non-painful area, allodynia to pressure was found in RA5, suggesting altered central processing of somatosensory functions in RA5 patients. The response to HNCS was similar in both RA groups and controls, indicating preserved function of DNIC-related mechanisms.
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"He slept less and less; they gave him opium and began to inject morphine. But this did not relieve him. The dull pain he experienced in the half asleep condition at first only relieved him as a change, but then it became as bad, or even more agonizing, than the open pain."--Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyitch. ⋯ Those who work in chronic pain are unfortunately only too aware of the problems that such pains can cause. One of the hallmarks of neuropathic pain is poor or incomplete relief with opioids. As with so many things in medicine, there is nothing novel in this realization, as the Tolstoy quotation shows.
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Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), also known as complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I), is a disabling neuropathic pain syndrome. Controversy exists about the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for the management of RSD/CRPS I. In order to ascertain appropriate therapies we conducted a review of existing randomized controlled trials of therapies for this disabling disease. ⋯ The search for trials concerning prevention of RSD/CRPS I resulted in two eligible studies. Both were of high quality and dealt with different interventions. There is limited evidence for their preventive effect.