Articles: pain-measurement.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jul 2016
Care-related pain in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients.
Despite advances in pain management, critically ill patients continue to have unacceptably high rates of uncontrolled pain. Using the Behavioural Pain Scale and physiological indicators of pain, this study examines pain levels in mechanically ventilated patients prior to and during routine nursing procedures. A prospective descriptive design was used to assess and describe care-related pain associated with nociceptive procedures (repositioning, endotracheal suctioning, and vascular punctures) and non-nociceptive procedures (mouth care, eye care and dressing change). ⋯ Harmless and comfort procedures are actually painful. When caring for nonverbal critically ill patients, clinicians need to consider care-related pain associated with their interventions. Relying on changes in vital signs as a primary indicator of pain can be misleading.
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Little is known about the factors associated with pain-related outcomes in older adults. In this observational study, we sought to identify patient factors associated with improvements in pain intensity in a national cohort of older veterans with chronic pain. We included 12,924 veterans receiving treatment from the Veterans Health Administration with persistently elevated numeric rating scale scores in 2010 who had not been prescribed opioids in the previous 12 months. We examined: 1) percentage decrease over 12 months in average pain intensity scores relative to average baseline pain intensity score; and 2) time to sustained improvement in average pain intensity scores, defined as a 30% reduction in 3-month scores compared with baseline. Average relative improvement in pain intensity scores from baseline ranged from 25% to 29%; almost two-thirds met criteria for sustained improvement during the 12-month follow-up period. In models, higher baseline pain intensity and older age were associated with greater likelihood of improvement in pain intensity, whereas Veterans Affairs service-connected disability, mental health, and certain pain-related diagnoses were associated with lower likelihood of improvement. Opioid prescription initiation during follow-up was associated with lower likelihood of sustained improvement. The findings call for further characterization of heterogeneity in pain outcomes in older adults as well as further analysis of the relationship between prescription opioids and treatment outcomes. ⋯ This study identified factors associated with improvements in pain intensity in a national cohort of older veterans with chronic pain. We found that older veterans frequently show improvements in pain intensity over time, and that opioid prescriptions, mental health, and certain pain diagnoses are associated with lower likelihood of improvement.
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It seems that central neuropathic pain (CNP) is associated with altered abilities to modulate pain; whereas dysfunction in descending pain inhibition is associated with the extent of chronic pain distribution, enhanced pain excitation is associated with the intensity of chronic pain. We investigated the hypothesis that CNP is associated with decreased descending pain inhibition along with increased neuronal excitability and that both traits are associated with spinothalamic tract (STT) damage. Chronic spinal cord injury subjects with CNP (n = 27) and without CNP (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 20) underwent the measurement of pain adaptation, conditioned pain modulation (CPM), tonic suprathreshold pain (TSP), and spatial summation of pain above injury level. ⋯ Thus, top-down processes may determine the spread of CNP, whereas bottom-up processes may determine CNP intensity. It also seems that the mechanisms of CNP may involve STT-induced hyperexcitability. Future, longitudinal studies may investigate the timeline of this scenario.
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To evaluate long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes after surgical fixation of unstable ankle fractures. ⋯ Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.