Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Comparative efficacy of oral pharmaceuticals for the treatment of chronic peripheral neuropathic pain: meta-analysis and indirect treatment comparisons.
Neuropathic pain is generally chronic and challenging to treat. Studies often ignore chronicity by reporting short-duration outcomes and fail to account for medication tolerability. We assessed efficacy of oral medications on chronic peripheral neuropathic pain. ⋯ Pregabalin and duloxetine had the largest beneficial effects for chronic peripheral neuropathic pain. In the absence of head-to-head trials, meta-analysis and indirect treatment comparisons inform best practice clinical decision-making.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Lumbar medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy in New Zealand.
This study aims to determine the effectiveness of lumbar medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy (RFN) performed by two practitioners trained according to rigorous guidelines. ⋯ Lumbar RFN can be very effective when performed in a rigorous manner in appropriately selected patients. Chronic back pain, mediated by the lumbar medial branches, can be stopped and patients fully restored to normal living, if treated with RFN.
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Depressive symptoms, pain, chronic medical morbidity, and interleukin-6 among primary care patients.
Pain, chronic medical morbidity, and depression are highly prevalent problems that frequently co-occur in primary care. Elevated levels of inflammatory markers are linked with all three of these conditions and may play an important role in patients' comorbidities. The current study aimed to examine if the associations among pain, chronic medical morbidity, and the inflammatory marker interleukin (IL)-6 are dependent on depression status in primary care patients. SETTING, SUBJECTS, AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary care patients (N = 106) aged 40 and older were assessed for pain (36-item Medical Outcomes Study Survey Form), chronic medical morbidity (checklist of chronic health conditions), and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), and provided a blood sample for the measurement of serum IL-6. ⋯ Depression may increase primary care patients' vulnerability to pain and elevated levels of inflammatory markers such as IL-6.