Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Thoracic paravertebral block for nephrectomy: a randomized, controlled, observer-blinded study.
This study evaluated whether adding a preoperative single thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) to intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) would improve postoperative analgesia compared with using IV PCA alone in patients undergoing nephrectomy. ⋯ A preoperative single TPVB improved postoperative analgesia by reducing the postoperative pain score and fentanyl consumption in patients undergoing nephrectomy.
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Utilities are values of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) based on patient preference for a health status. The purpose of this study was to compare indirect measures to a directly elicited utility. ⋯ This study demonstrates that the EQ-5D overestimates, whereas the paper version of TTO underestimates, the impact of pain on HRQoL compared with the directly elicited FTF TTO utility. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that utilities vary by method, and directly elicited utility values differ from indirectly elicited measures.
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We aimed to determine Axis-I psychiatric disorders in patients with chronic pain (CP) and compare control subjects determined by a structured clinical interview. Another objective of the study was to examine whether there is an association between psychiatric disorders and quality of sleep, quality of life, and demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with CP. ⋯ Results of this study suggest that psychiatric morbidity in patients with CP is frequently seen and may adversely affect quality of sleep and quality of life of the patients. Therefore, the patients with CP should be examined with respect to their mental status.
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Case Reports
Rapid-onset opioids for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain: two cases of drug abuse.
In the last few years, the use of opioids for cancer pain has rapidly increased and new molecules have been developed. Currently, rapid-onset opioids are widely used in clinical practice for breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP). However, the tolerability of these molecules is still a matter of debate. ⋯ The reported cases are explicative as they occurred in patients suffering from different types of cancer and with different causes of BTcP. Further investigations are needed to identify factors predicting addiction to this new class of molecules.