Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Does a Brief Educational Session Produce Positive Change for Individuals Waiting for Tertiary Chronic Pain Services?
To examine: 1) whether a single brief pre-clinic educational session improved the well-being and quality of life of individuals entering the wait-list for a tertiary chronic pain (CP) service; and 2) the impact of waiting for services on these outcomes. ⋯ Attending a brief pre-clinic education session did not improve function. There was no deterioration in wait-listed participants who agreed to be involved in research and who completed study measures at 2 and 6 months, but referral was associated with short-term functional improvements. This is the first study to link positive change with referral to, rather than treatment by, a tertiary CP service.
-
Multicenter Study Observational Study
Spinal Cord Stimulation Provides Pain Relief with Improved Psychosocial Function: Results from EMP3OWER.
The EMP(3)OWER™ study evaluated spinal cord stimulation (SCS) safety and efficacy and the associated changes in psychosocial and functional outcomes. ⋯ Spinal cord stimulation provided pain relief and significant improvement of patient psychological and functional outcome measures.
-
Observational Study
Imaging Determinants of Clinical Effectiveness of Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections.
To examine associations between imaging characteristics of compressive lesions and patient outcomes after lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESIs) stratified by steroid formulation (solution versus suspension). ⋯ In the entire sample, outcomes for disc herniations were more favorable than for fixed lesions. However, fixed lesions treated with dexamethasone had outcomes indistinguishable from disc herniations. Single lesions had better outcomes than tandem lesions.
-
Persistent pain is highly prevalent in older adults and can lead to functional limitations in activities of daily living, and to psychosocial distress. There is a lack of established active therapy programs, especially for older adults with chronic pain. ⋯ This graded activity program demonstrated feasibility and high acceptance in aged individuals and therapists. Future studies with larger samples must confirm effectiveness. The principles also appear applicable to other chronic pain conditions. The program could easily be implemented in routine primary care.
-
Individuals with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have high rates of both chronic pain and substance use disorder (SUD). Despite high comorbidity, there are limited data available on effective methods of treatment for co-occurring chronic pain and SUD. In this study, we sought to develop and conduct preliminary testing of an integrated cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for chronic pain and SUD in patients with HCV. ⋯ Results from this pilot study suggest that a customized CBT for patients with both chronic pain and SUD (CBT-cp.sud) may be beneficial in improving important pain and addiction-related outcomes in patients with HCV. Larger scale investigations of this intervention appear warranted.