European journal of pain : EJP
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Theories propose that interpretation biases and attentional biases might account for the maintenance of chronic pain symptoms, but the interactions between these two forms of biases in the context of chronic pain are understudied. ⋯ In summary, the present study provided evidence for the interplay between multiple forms of cognitive biases. Future studies should investigate whether this interaction might influence subsequent functioning in people with chronic pain.
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Review Meta Analysis
Intrathecal Dexmedetomidine and Postoperative Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken to evaluate the effect of intrathecal dexmedetomidine (DEX) on the duration of postoperative analgesia, postoperative pain scores and incidences of adverse effects. ⋯ The analgesic role of intrathecal DEX is promising due to its ability to significantly increase postoperative analgesic duration when compared with placebo. Its usage can be considered for patients undergoing surgeries with significant postoperative pain, particularly those intolerant of systemic analgesia. However, the optimal dose for various surgeries as well as its long-term neurological effects warrants further studies.
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Although it has been suggested that the different cultural and social environments between countries contribute to variations in pain catastrophizing (PC), an international comparison of PC in patients with chronic pain has not yet been reported. Prior to undertaking this comparison, a cross-cultural assessment of the pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) was undertaken to explore the different factor structures among each translated version of the PCS. ⋯ Although the pain catastrophizing scale has been translated into approximately 20 languages, methodological quality during their translation process has not been systematically assessed. We found that all languages versions showed sufficient internal consistency when assessing whole items, however, there were inconsistent structural models among each translated version, leading to variant subdomain structures for rumination, magnification and helplessness.
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Following amputation, nearly all amputees report nonpainful phantom phenomena and many of them suffer from chronic phantom limb pain (PLP) and residual limb pain (RLP). The aetiology of PLP remains elusive and there is an ongoing debate on the role of peripheral and central mechanisms. Few studies have examined the entire somatosensory pathway from the truncated nerves to the cortex in amputees with PLP compared to those without PLP. The relationship among afferent input, somatosensory responses and the change in PLP remains unclear. ⋯ Peripheral afferent input plays a role in PLP and has been assumed to be sufficient to generate PLP. In this study we found no significant differences in the electrical potentials generated by peripheral stimulation from the truncated nerve and the skin of the residual limb in amputees with and without PLP. Peripheral input could enhance existing PLP but could not cause it. These findings indicate the multifactorial complexity of PLP and an important role of central processes in PLP.
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Stress-related dissociation has been shown to negatively co-vary with pain perception in current borderline personality disorder (cBPD). While remission of the disorder (rBPD) is associated with normalized pain perception, it remains unclear whether dissociation proneness is still enhanced in this group and how this feature interacts with pain sensitivity. ⋯ Both current (cBPD) and remitted borderline personality disorder (rBPD) patients show enhanced proneness to dissociation. This feature is significantly linked with pain hyposensitivity in cBPD in a paradigm that induces stress using a script-driven imagery approach, whereas this connection cannot be observed in rBPD. However, in the stress compared to the neutral condition, rBPD participants also show pain hyposensitivity compared to healthy controls. This study provides new insights into the pain processing mechanisms of BPD and its remission.