Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in salivary cortisol (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical [HPA] axis), α-amylase activity (sympathetic nervous system [SNS]), and immunoglobulin A (IgA; immune system) concentrations between women with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and healthy women. ⋯ These results suggest that women with severe CTS exhibit changes in activation in the HPA axis and SNS but not in the humoral immune system. Activation of the SNS was associated with the intensity of pain. Future studies are needed to elucidate the direction of this relationship.
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Prior work has not addressed sex differences in the incidence of severe postoperative pain episodes. The goal of this study was to examine sex differences in clinical postoperative pain scores across an array of surgical procedures using direct comparisons of numeric rating scale pain scores as well as using the incidence of severe pain events (SPEs). ⋯ Female patients experience greater mean pain scores, as well as a higher incidence of SPE, on POD 1 for a variety of surgical procedures.