Articles: pain.
-
Results of IV calcitonin treatment in patients suffering from postoperative phantom limb pain (n = 12) or causalgia following peripheral nerve lesions (n = 4) are reported. All patients were complained of severe pain after a traumatic event or amputation, with disturbed sleep in many cases. After only 1-2 infusions 10 patients with phantom limb pain (83%) were discharged from hospital pain-free. ⋯ Recurrent pain due to causalgia could not be improved by repeated calcitonin infusion, although this was effective for phantom limb pain. The administration of calcitonin IV can be recommended as a valuable treatment for phantom limb pain and causalgias in the early postoperative period. Therapy was effective with negligible side-effects, and long-term follow-up revealed a long-lasting effect.
-
In the anesthetized rat, cocaine (25 mg/kg i.p.), enhanced the frequency potentiation of nociceptively evoked polysynaptic discharges but did not affect the polysynaptic reflex discharge to single nociceptive stimuli or the habituation of this reflex to repetitive pinch stimuli. The non-nociceptive, short-latency reflex discharge was suppressed for 10-15 min after cocaine administration. The neurogenic extravasation response to antidromic cutaneous C-fiber stimulation was unaffected by cocaine. These findings suggest that systemic cocaine, in doses analgesic for the rat, does not suppress spinal nociceptive reflexes.
-
Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) provides improved titration of analgesic drugs, thereby minimizing individual pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic differences. Patient-controlled analgesia decreases patient anxiety resulting from delays in receiving pain-relieving medication and from the slow onset of analgesic action when these drugs are administered either intramuscularly or in the extradural space. ⋯ The potential for overdose can be minimized if small bolus doses are used with a mandatory lockout interval between successive doses. Finally, studies of the cost-effectiveness of PCA therapy are important if this therapeutic approach is to achieve more widespread acceptance.