Articles: pain-measurement.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
[The effects of patient-controlled epidural analgesia with background infusion after abdominal surgery].
Although patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) is widely known to provide good pain control after abdominal surgery, it has not been popular in Japan. We evaluated the effects of PCEA with background infusion after major abdominal surgery. ⋯ PCEA with background infusion could improve the management of postoperative pain, and adequate program of PCEA is important to reduce postoperative pain and its side effects.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The placebo needle, is it a valid and convincing placebo for use in acupuncture trials? A randomised, single-blind, cross-over pilot trial.
The issue of what constitutes an effective and realistic acupuncture placebo control has been a continuing problem for acupuncture research. In order to provide an effective placebo, the control procedure must be convincing, visible and should mimic, in all respects, apart from a physiological effect, the real active treatment. The 'Streitberger' needle might fulfil these criteria and this paper reports on a validation study. ⋯ No major differences in outcome between real and placebo needling could be found. The fact that nearly 40% of subjects did not find that the two interventions were similar, however, raises some concerns with regard to the wholesale adoption of this instrument as a standard acupuncture placebo. Further work on inter-tester reliability and standardisation of technique is highly recommended before we can be confident about using this needle in further studies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Pain coping strategies play a role in the persistence of pain in post-herpetic neuralgia.
Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a neuropathic pain state that is often difficult to treat. Although frequently discussed in the clinical literature, little is known about the impact of pain on daily function and the extent to which psychosocial factors, in particular pain coping strategies, influence adaptation to this chronic illness. In the context of a crossover pharmacological trial, 68 patients with PHN completed a battery of psychological measures during a first drug-free baseline period. ⋯ Patients who reported increasing their activity in response to pain also reported more perceived interference due to pain 8 weeks later. Higher levels of ignoring pain sensations at baseline were prospectively correlated with more depressive symptoms 8 weeks later. These findings support a role for the continued investigation of cognitive-behavioral factors affecting the adaptation of elderly individuals experiencing PHN.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effect of music on chronic osteoarthritis pain in older people.
Osteoarthritis is the most common degenerative disease in humans. It usually begins in middle age and is progressive. Chronic pain in older people presents a significant obstacle in maintaining function and independence. Previous studies have shown that music can improve motivation, elevate mood, and increase feelings of control in older people. ⋯ Listening to music was an effective nursing intervention for the reduction of chronic osteoarthritis pain in the community-dwelling elders in this study.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Clinically important change in the visual analog scale after adequate pain control.
To define the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) for the visual analog scale (VAS) of pain severity by measuring the change in VAS associated with adequate pain control. ⋯ A mean reduction in VAS of 30.0 mm represents a clinically important difference in pain severity that corresponds to patients' perception of adequate pain control. Defining MCID based on adequate analgesic control rather than minimal detectable change may be more appropriate for future analgesic trials, when effective treatments for acute pain exist.