European journal of pain : EJP
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Cutaneous laser stimulation has commonly been employed to investigate the thermal properties of the nociceptive system. The aim of this study was to investigate how a temperature-controlled laser system improves the assessment of directional discrimination in the nociceptive system. ⋯ This study shows that a newly developed temperature-controlled laser stimulation system enhances the possibilities to investigate the nociceptive temporo-spatial integration, as shown by a less variable directional discrimination threshold. The results also show that different orthogonal directions are discriminated differently. This new method allows a better investigation of the combined temporal and spatial mechanisms in the nociceptive system.
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Opioid dose titration is a fundamental process of opioid therapy in cancer pain. ⋯ This review provides the most recent insights on the different modalities of opioid dose titration in cancer pain management.
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Observational Study
The influence of advanced age on long-term postsurgical analgesic use in patients receiving neuraxial anaesthesia for elective surgery.
To determine the relationship between age and long-term postsurgical analgesic use in patients who underwent elective surgery with neuraxial anaesthesia. ⋯ Older age is an independent risk factor for long-term analgesic use after surgery under neuraxial anaesthesiaanesthesia, indicating an increased risk for chronic postsurgical pain.