Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Emergency department (ED) visits for opioid overdose provide an important marker of acute morbidity. We sought to evaluate national trends of ED visits for opioid overdose. ⋯ In a nationally representative database of U.S. ED visits, we found that the ED visit rate for opioid overdose quadrupled from 1993 to 2010. Our findings suggest that previous prevention measures may not be adequate.
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This study was conducted to translate the Pain Catastrophizing Scale into and adapt it to the Sinhala language and to examine its psychometric properties and factor structure in pain patients and healthy adults in Sri Lanka. ⋯ The results suggest that the Sinhala version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale retains the original three-factor structure. It is a stable, valid and sufficiently reliable tool to assess pain catastrophizing in Sinhala-speaking individuals in Sri Lanka.
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Although chronic pain is prevalent among American Indian (AI) populations, the use of traditional healing practices has not been widely investigated. The aim of this qualitative study was to solicit information from adult AIs with chronic pain regarding use of traditional health practices (THPs) for chronic pain and pain reduction. ⋯ The findings of this qualitative study suggest AIs from this tribal community utilize THP, but which specific THPs should be included in an ambulatory-based pain treatment program will require further research.
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The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and nature of physician, nurse, and pharmacist verbal counseling at the time of a new prescription for an opioid-acetaminophen containing medication as recalled by patients. ⋯ Patients infrequently recall counseling from providers on topics that are important to prevent harm from opioid-acetaminophen prescriptions. Future patient-centered clinical research should target identifying optimal strategies to convey these critical messages.
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We report reversal of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) along with functional restoration after total knee replacement (TKR) in two patients, using a combination therapy that included ultrasonography-guided pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) of nerves supplying the knee to provide pain relief, along with dry needling (DN) to relax myofascial triggers/bands that caused painful stiffness and restricted movement of muscles acting across the knee. Both patients showed demonstrable pain relief, as evidenced by changes in pain as assessed on the Numeric Rating Scale (patient 1: 4-9/10 [pre-treatment] to 0-3/10 [6 months post-treatment]; patient 2: 5-9/10 to 0-4/10), Oxford Knee Score (patient 1: 17 to 40; patient 2: 12 to 39), Self-Administered Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs score (patient 1: 16 to 0; patient 2: 18 to 0), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score (patient 1: 17 to 2; patient 2: 20 to 2). ⋯ It has evolved from our experience of 8 years. Physiotherapy worked synergistically with DN, optimizing muscle performance and pain relief.