Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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The study aims to prospectively analyze the effect of adding pregabalin upon costs and consequences in the treatment of refractory neck pain under routine medical practice. ⋯ Compared with usual care, the addition of pregabalin to treat refractory neck pain seems to be associated with a higher reduction in pain severity and lost work-days equivalents, which in turn results in a greater reduction of the indirect components of cost while maintaining similar healthcare cost levels despite its higher price.
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One indirect line of evidence for opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) in humans is decreased pain thresholds (PTREs) and tolerances (PTOLs) in opioid addicts on opioids. There are a number of such studies in opioid maintained addicts, but no such studies in chronic pain patients (CPPs) with current opioid addiction. The objective of this study was to determine if this group demonstrates hyperalgesia. ⋯ This study contributes to the human OIH literature. However, because of the potential confounders in this study, the issue of OIH in humans remains unresolved.
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Pain, motor, and sensory deficits characterize patients with a traumatic lesion of the brachial plexus. Frequently, more severe injuries co-exist that require immediate surgical attention. Early rehabilitation and physical therapy are the cornerstones of treatment. ⋯ Surgical reconstruction is frequently advised when nerves are disrupted. The results, mostly from small historical reports, vary greatly. Neurostimulation may have an additional beneficial effect, especially if the pathophysiology of nociception and neuropathic pain becomes evident in these complex patients.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
An open-label comparison of nabilone and gabapentin as adjuvant therapy or monotherapy in the management of neuropathic pain in patients with peripheral neuropathy.
Neuropathic pain (NeP) is prevalent in patients with peripheral neuropathy (PN), regardless of etiology. We sought to compare the efficacy of the cannabinoid nabilone as either monotherapy or adjuvant therapy with a first-line medication for NeP, gabapentin, in a patient population with PN-NeP. Patients diagnosed with PN-NeP were permitted to initiate monotherapy (nabilone or gabapentin) or add one of these two medications (adjuvant therapy) to their existing NeP treatment regimen in a non-randomized open-label nature. ⋯ Sleep adequacy and the sleep problems index within the MOSSS improved in nabilone monotherapy patients in particular. The benefits of monotherapy or adjuvant therapy with nabilone appear comparable to gabapentin for management of NeP. We advocate for head-to-head randomized, double-blind studies for current therapies for NeP in order to determine potential advantages beneficial in this patient population.