European journal of pain : EJP
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Chronic pain is one of the most common health conditions among older adults, triggering various disruptions in information processing across attentional, emotional, and somatosensory domains. However, there is insufficient information about how these aspects interact and their potential contribution to the vulnerability of older adults to chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate potential alterations induced by chronic pain during aging in attentional aspects of tactile stimulation and to observe the influence of affective context. ⋯ In the present study, we have observed how older individuals suffering from chronic pain exhibit a decline in the habituation capacity of irrelevant somatosensory information. Furthermore, we have observed how the affective context in which these individuals are situated leads to an exacerbation of this deficit. Enhancing our comprehension of how aging and chronic pain interact to impact somatosensory processing could facilitate the tailoring of novel intervention strategies.
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Lung cancer surgery is associated with a high incidence of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), which necessitates long-term analgesic prescriptions. However, while essential for managing pain, these have shown various adverse effects. Current guidelines recommend using peripheral nerve blocks over epidural anaesthesia for perioperative analgesia in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS). However, the impact of perioperative analgesia on chronic analgesic prescriptions remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated chronic analgesic prescription patterns following MITS in patients with lung cancer who received either perioperative epidural anaesthesia or nerve block. ⋯ This nationwide retrospective study suggests that the choice between perioperative epidural anaesthesia or nerve block in patients with lung cancer undergoing MITS does not influence the proportion of postoperative chronic analgesic prescriptions.
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Epidemiological surveys have monitored chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and investigated associated factors in Denmark for more than 20 years. This study aimed to analyse CNCP prevalence in the Danish population from 2000 to 2023 and its associations with mental health status and loneliness. ⋯ This study demonstrated alarming trend on chronic non-cancer pain prevalence over time in Denmark. The high estimates of prevalence and related issues, such as mental health and severe loneliness deserve further investigation and prioritisation in the public health agenda.
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After lumbar spine surgery, a Core Outcome Set (COS) for acute pain is essential to ensure that the most meaningful outcomes are monitored consistently in the perioperative period. The aim of the present study was to consent on a COS for assessing the efficacy of acute pain management for patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery. ⋯ This research proposes a clinically relevant spine-specific core outcome set (COS) of domains focusing on the acute postoperative phase (until 30 days). This is the first COS for evaluation of acute pain after lumbar spine surgery.