Pain management
-
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating and painful condition seen in patients undergoing treatment with common agents such as vincristine, paclitaxel, oxaliplatin and bortezomib. The mechanisms of this condition are diverse, and include an array of molecular and cellular contributions. ⋯ Changes in ion channels and neurotransmission, as well as changes in intracellular signaling and structures have been implicated in CIPN. This review explores these issues and suggests considerations for future research.
-
Pain is a common consequence of a spinal cord injury (SCI) and has a major impact on quality of life through its impact on physical function, mood and participation in work, recreational and social activities. Several types of pain typically present following SCI with central neuropathic pain being a frequent and difficult to manage occurrence. Despite advances in our understanding of the mechanisms contributing to this type of pain and an increasing number of trials examining treatment efficacy, our ability to relieve neuropathic SCI pain is still very limited. Optimal management relies upon an integrated approach that uses a combination of pharmacological and nonpharmacological options.
-
Neurological and other complications of epidural steroid injections have been widely discussed in recent years. Consequently, the US FDA issued a warning about serious neurological events, some resulting in death, and consequently is requiring label changes. ⋯ A review of the literature reveals an overwhelming proportion of the complications are related to transforaminal epidural injections, with the majority of them to cervical transforaminal epidural injections. This perspective describes the prevalence of administering epidural injections, complications, pathoanatomy, mechanism of injury and various preventive strategies.
-
The rationale for using multimodal analgesia after any major surgery is achievement of adequate analgesia while avoiding the unwanted effects of large doses of any analgesic, in particular opioids. There are two reasons why we can hypothesize that multimodal analgesia might have a significant impact on cancer-related outcomes in the context of oncological orthopedic surgery. First, because multimodal analgesia is a key component of enhanced-recovery pathways and can accelerate return to intended oncological therapy. And second, because some of the analgesic used in multimodal analgesia (i.e., COX inhibitors, local analgesics and dexamethasone) can induce apoptosis in cancer cells and/or diminish the inflammatory response during surgery which itself can facilitate tumor growth.
-
Expectations of pain relief drive placebo analgesia. Understanding how expectations of improvement trigger distinct biological systems to shape therapeutic analgesic outcomes has been the focus of recent pharmacologic and neuroimaging studies in the field of pain. Recent findings indicate that placebo effects can imitate the actions of real painkillers and promote the endogenous release of opioids and nonopioids in humans. ⋯ Distinct psychological traits can modulate expectations of analgesia, which facilitate brain pain control mechanisms involved in pain reduction. Many studies have highlighted the importance and clinical relevance of these responses. Gaining deeper understanding of these pain modulatory mechanisms has important implications for personalizing patient pain management.