Articles: pain-measurement.
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Comparative Study
Intrathecal CGRP8-37-induced bilateral increase in hindpaw withdrawal latency in rats with unilateral inflammation.
1. Recent work in our laboratory has demonstrated that intrathecal administration of a selective antagonist of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), CGRP8-37, increased the hindpaw withdrawal latency (HWL) to thermal stimulation and hindpaw withdrawal threshold (HWT) to pressure in normal rats, and that these effects were more pronounced than in rats with mononeuropathy. 2. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of intrathecal administration of CGRP8-37 on the HWL and HWT in rats with unilateral hindpaw inflammation induced by subcutaneous injection of carrageenin. ⋯ Intrathecal administration of CGRP8-37 increased the HWL to thermal stimulation and HWT to pressure bilaterally. 9. The results indicate that CGRP plays a role in the transmission of presumed nociceptive information in the spinal cord of rats with experimentally induced inflammation. Furthermore, our findings suggest that opioids can modulate CGRP-related effects in the spinal cord.
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Although pain assessment is a vital preliminary step towards the satisfactory control of cancer pain, data on the prevalence of different pain syndromes are rare. In a prospective study of 2266 cancer patients, we assessed localisations, aetiologies and pathophysiological mechanisms of the pain syndromes. Thirty percent of the patients presented with 1, 39% with 2 and 31% with 3 or more distinct pain syndromes. ⋯ The main pain syndrome was also coded according to the IASP Classification of Chronic Pain. Regions and systems affected by the main pain syndrome showed large variation depending on the site of cancer origin, whereas temporal characteristics, intensity and aetiology were not markedly influenced by the cancer site. The variety of pain syndromes evaluated in our patients confirms the importance of comprehensive pain assessment prior to treatment.
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The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the medical and dental history of 39 consecutive patients with chronic orofacial pain and discomfort in order to revise an existent questionnaire, intended for clinical use. Data were collected from record sheets and filled in questionnaires. The patients had previously to a great extent consulted or been treated by other medical as well as dental professionals for their symptoms. ⋯ Onset of symptoms was by nearly half of the patients connected with previous dental treatment. Eighteen patients had experienced intensification of symptoms in situations connected with exposure to electromagnetic fields. The importance of a careful medicodental history for diagnostic procedures and therapeutic measures is discussed, and also the role of TMD symptoms secondary to various somatic and psychological factors.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Response measures in the acute treatment of migraine.
Pain ratings from 268 migraine patients have been used to compare the visual analogue scale (VAS) and a four-point verbal rating scale. All patients completed pain ratings on both scales at the beginning of a migraine attack and 4 h after starting treatment with sumatriptan or placebo. ⋯ In this study, the statistical power of analysing response either as "success or failure" or by means of the VAS score has been investigated by stochastic simulation. The simulations showed that the two response measures resulted in approximately equal power.
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Pain induced by various types of procedures was assessed in the Paediatric Surgical Emergency Department at St Göran's Children's Hospital in Stockholm. Assessments of pain were obtained from the nurse, the parent, and children over 10 years of age by means of a visual analogue scale. In children aged 3-9 years, the Smiley Five-Face Scale was used. ⋯ There was a poor correlation between the parent's and child's estimates of pain. Parents are not well informed about the possibilities for pain treatment. Infants and children attending emergency rooms must also benefit from recent advances in the treatment of pain.