Articles: acute-pain.
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Case Reports
Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia mimicking ruptured ectopic pregnancy: A case report.
Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) refers to the hydatidiform mole tissue that invades the myometrium or even penetrates the uterine wall to the broad ligament or abdominal cavity, and a few have distant metastases through blood transport. According to the World Health Organization[1] 2020 (5th edition) classification lists an erosive hydatidiform mole as a borderline or biologically behavioral uncertain tumor, it continues to be clinically classified as a malignancy and combined with choriocarcinoma as a GTN. The clinical manifestations of GTN include amenorrhea, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and increased serum human chorionic gonadotropin level, which are also common clinical features of ectopic pregnancy. The diagnosis of typical GTN is not difficult. However, some patients with atypical clinical manifestations and a lack of specificity in their B-ultrasound images are easy to misdiagnose, especially when the lesions are located in special parts outside the uterus and lack specific imaging features. ⋯ Continued reporting of these cases are important so that the gynecologists are aware about the possibility of ruptured invasive mole and it should be kept as a differential diagnosis in all the pregnant women presents with acute onset lower abdominal pain.
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Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), a type of neuromodulatory technique, is increasingly used to treat chronic pain syndromes. PNS has also recently gained popularity as a viable adjunct analgesic modality in acute pain settings, where the practice primarily relies on using boluses or infusion of local anesthetics for nerve blockade, followed by stimulation to extend the analgesia. There is some early promise in PNS for perioperative analgesic control, but considerable obstacles must be addressed before it can be implemented into standard practice. In this daring discourse, we explore the possibilities and constraints of using the PNS paradigm in acute pain.
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Observational Study
The complex association of daily opioid dose with visits for pain in sickle cell disease: tolerance or treatment refractory pain?
Opioids are used for acute and chronic pain in patients with sickle cell disease. How outpatient opioid regimens relate to acute care visits is of interest given the risks of high opioid doses and high hospital utilization. A prior study by our group suggested that outpatient opioid treatment for chronic pain could contribute to a vicious cycle of treatment-refractory acute pain, greater acute care utilization, and escalating opioid doses. The present larger naturalistic observational study was undertaken to determine whether the results were reliable across multiple acute care settings. ⋯ Higher outpatient opioid dosage predicted higher dosages during acute care visits to achieve the same pain score improvement, which is more consistent with opioid tolerance than with treatment-refractory pain. The relationship of outpatient opioid dosage with number of acute care visits was more complex, which suggests that opioid consumption at lower levels is driven by intermittent acute pain and opioid consumption at higher levels is driven by chronic pain.
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During the hospital stay pain is very common among patients living with dementia. ⋯ The majority of hospitalized medical patients living with dementia were treated for pain, but an ongoing focus is needed to assure optimal pain management for all patients.
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Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with acute pain manifesting as one of its most debilitating symptoms. Understanding acute postinjury pain is important because it is a strong predictor of long-term outcomes. In this study, we imaged the brains of 157 patients with mTBI, following a motorized vehicle collision. ⋯ White matter measures collected at 6 months after the collision still predicted mTBI pain at that timepoint (n = 36). These white matter connections were associated with 2 nociceptive psychophysical outcomes tested at a remote body site-namely, conditioned pain modulation and magnitude of suprathreshold pain-and with pain sensitivity questionnaire scores. Our findings demonstrate a stable white matter network, the properties of which determine an important amount of pain experienced after acute injury, pinpointing a circuitry engaged in the transformation and amplification of nociceptive inputs to pain perception.