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PubMed1999

Management of postoperative pain in abdominal surgery in Spain. A multicentre drug utilization study.

AIMS: Postoperative pain is common in hospital-admitted patients. Its management is determined by different therapeutic traditions and by the attitudes of health professionals in each hospital. The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of prescription and administration of analgesic drugs used for postoperative pain after abdominal surgery in Spanish hospitals, to know the prevalence and the severity of postoperative pain, and to determine the extent of variability in the management of postoperative pain among the participating centres. METHODS: The study was a multicentre descriptive cross-sectional drug utilization study in 12 Spanish hospitals. The subjects were an unselected sample of consecutive patients undergoing abdominal surgery, admitted between October 1994 and January 1995. For each patient, information about the surgical procedure and the use of analgesics was prospectively collected. The severity of postoperative pain was assessed during the first day after surgery by means of a six-category (none, mild, moderate, severe, very severe, and unbearable) rating scale and a visual analogue scale (VAS). RESULTS: Nine hundred and ninety-three patients (547 men) were included. The most common surgical procedures were inguinal hernia repair (315, 32%), cholecystectomy (268, 27%), appendectomy (140, 14%), bowel resection (137, 14%), and gastric surgery (58, 6%). Fifty-nine percent of patients (587) received nonopioid analgesics only, 9% (89) received opioid analgesics only, and 27% (263) received both opioid and nonopioid analgesics. The most frequently administered drugs were metamizole (667 patients) and pethidine (213 patients). Although in the majority of medical orders the administration of analgesics was scheduled at regular time intervals, the majority of actual doses were given 'as-needed'. The average administered daily doses of all analgesics were lower than those prescribed. Thirty-eight percent (371/967) of patients rated their maximum pain on the first day as severe to unbearable. Wide interhospital variability was recorded in the surgical procedures which had been performed, in the analgesics used, and also in the pain scores referred by patients. The percentage of patients in each centre who suffered severe to unbearable pain varied from 22 to 67%. CONCLUSIONS: In Spain many patients still suffer severe pain after abdominal surgery, and this seems to be due to an inadequate use of analgesics. Wide interhospital variability in the management of postoperative pain and in its prevalence was also recorded.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

How could the validity of the DSM-IV pain disorder be improved in reference to the concept that it is supposed to identify?

This article examines the dilemmas inherent in psychiatry's attempts to incorporate pain disorders into the standard psychiatric nomenclature. Each succeeding Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has broadened the concept of pain disorders, and, gradually, the diagnosis has become increasingly removed from the original idea of "psychogenic pain." The advantage of this broadening has been the increased use of the diagnosis in clinical settings. However, there remains a problem of validity, as the disorder continues to imply a mind-body dualism, and clinicians are asked to determine the relative contribution of both to the overall picture of pain. After examining this problem, the article looks at some alternative models, and offers some generalizations regarding the dimensions of the pain experience. The article ends by tentatively offering some suggestions for future approaches to pain diagnoses in psychiatry.

Humans↗
PubMed1998

Perceived efficacy of pain clinics in the rehabilitation of injured workers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the perceived efficacy of pain clinics in the rehabilitation of injured workers among four groups of professionals. DESIGN: A questionnaire was given to 351 subjects representing four professional groups: physicians, vocational rehabilitation counselors, staff at pain clinics, and employees of a workers compensation program. Subjects rated the effectiveness of pain clinics in eight specific functions, estimated the percentage of workers who return to work after pain clinic treatment, and indicated how soon after injury a worker should be referred to a pain clinic. RESULTS: Pain clinic staff consistently gave the most favorable ratings and workers compensation employees the least favorable ones. There was good agreement across professional groups regarding the need for early referral of injured workers to pain clinics and the specific functions that pain clinics carry out relatively well. Clinics were ranked as most effective in reducing workers' use of opiates, and as least effective in reducing workers' pain. Return-to-work estimates varied significantly across professional groups. Within professional groups, subjects with high estimates gave more favorable overall ratings to pain clinics. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide a profile of the perceived effectiveness of pain clinics in various functions and highlight the importance of getting accurate information about return to work rates following pain clinic treatment. They suggest that workers are not referred to pain clinics early enough.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1980

Site of pain from the irritable bowel.

The distribution of pain from the colon was examined in normal subjects and in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Colonic pain was induced by inflating a balloon (introduced during colonoscopy) at several sites throughout the colon. The pain was felt predominantly in the central, lower, and left abdomen in nine patients presenting with rectal bleeding and no spontaneous pain. Pain was felt in any part of the abdomen in 48 patients with painful IBS. Distension of the ascending and transverse colon often produced right-sided or upper abdominal pain in patients with IBS and in 29 of the 48 the pain induced was the same in quality and site as their presenting complaint. In addition pain was referred to several, previously undescribed, extra-abdominal sites. Wider recognition of the distribution of colonic pain could prevent unnecessary investigations including laparotomy.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2006

Pain and motor complications in Parkinson's disease.

AIMS: To study the association of pain with motor complications in 117 patients with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Patients were asked to refer any pain they experienced at the time of study and lasting since at least 2 months. Basic parkinsonian signs and motor complications (including motor fluctuations and dyskinesia) were assessed and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score part III (during on) and part IV were calculated. Information on age, sex, duration of disease, use of dopamine agonists and levodopa, years of levodopa treatment and current levodopa dosage, medical conditions possibly associated with pain, and depression were collected. Single and multiple explanatory variable logistic regression models were used to check the association of pain with the investigated variables. RESULTS: Pain was described by 47 patients (40%) and could be classified into dystonic (n.19) and non dystonic pain (n.16); in 12 patients both types coexisted. Multiple explanatory variable logistic regression models indicated a significant association of pain with motor complications (adjusted OR, 5.7; 95% CI, 2 to 16.5; p = 0.001). No association was found between pain, dystonic or non dystonic, and the other investigated variables including medical conditions known to be associated to pain in the general population. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.31, p<0.05) between severity of pain (measured on a Visual Analogue Scale) and severity of motor complications (UPDRS part IV). CONCLUSIONS: Pain may be a representative feature of Parkinson's disease frequently associated with motor complications. The association is independent of a number of potentially relevant demographic and clinical variables.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Reduction of human experimental muscle pain by alfentanil and morphine.

Musculoskeletal pain is a major clinical problem. By using various experimental models in humans, the understanding of the basic mechanisms behind muscle pain can increase, thereby giving hope for new and optimized treatment. Opioids are increasingly often used to treat muscle pain. There are, however, a limited number of previous studies on opioids and muscle pain, most of them using a relative low, single dose. Therefore, we wanted to further study the effect of two rather high doses of alfentanil (25 and 75ng/ml) and morphine (0.14 and 0.28mg/kg) in human volunteers. The study consisted of two parallel studies with morphine and alfentanil, respectively, and was conducted as randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 3-way cross-over. We used intramuscular infusion of hypertonic saline and intramuscular electrical stimulation to induce experimental pain. Visual analog scale (VAS)-score, intramuscular electrical pain thresholds and pain area (local and referred) were measured. Both alfentanil and morphine at their highest doses induced a 6 to 7-fold increase in pain thresholds to single and repetitive (5 stimulations, 2Hz) electrical stimulation. Alfentanil and morphine also reduced VAS score about 4 to 5-fold during suprathreshold electric stimulation and during infusion of hypertonic saline. None of the drugs decreased referred pain. There were no apparent differences between the drugs, in terms of effect or adverse reactions. In conclusion, this is the first study to compare two high doses of alfentanil and morphine on experimental muscle pain in humans. Both alfentanil and morphine reduced experimental muscle pain. There were no indications of any true pharmacodynamic differences between the two drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Severe perineal pain after enterocystoplasty in bladder exstrophy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a previously unreported complication (severe perineal pain) after bladder reconstruction and enterocystoplasty in patients with bladder exstrophy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The notes were reviewed retrospectively for four patients (two boys and two girls) with classical bladder exstrophy who had severe penile or perineal pain after bladder reconstruction. They were all continent and using intermittent catheterization. A range of conservative management failed and all patients subsequently required excision of their native bladders between 1997 and 2000. RESULTS: All four patients had perineal or penile pain which began 4 months to 8 years after bladder augmentation. Investigations included plain abdominal X-ray, renal and bladder ultrasonography, computerized tomography of the pelvis, video-urodynamics and cysto-urethroscopy. When therapeutic interventions such as more frequent bladder washouts, analgesic and anticholinergic drugs, and cystolithotomy (two patients) were unsuccessful in alleviating the symptoms, all had their native bladder excised. Histological examination of the excised tissue showed neither normal urothelium nor enteric mucosa at the margins of the excision; two patients already had squamous metaplasia within what represented the bladder, and in the others squamous epithelium was present amongst the enteric mucosa. All four children were pain-free with a follow-up of 2-6 years. CONCLUSION: All four patients developed severe referred bladder pain that was probably secondary to the abnormal retained bladder remnants. Cystectomy cured the pain and may also have removed a potential site of future malignant tumour.

Bladder Exstrophy↗
PubMed1990

Management of ectopic pregnancy.

Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy include previous ectopic pregnancy, current intrauterine device use, prior fallopian tube surgery, previous pelvic inflammatory disease and a prior history of infertility. Abdominal pain is the most common symptom, followed by amenorrhea or vaginal bleeding, nausea, vomiting, syncope and dizziness. Referred shoulder pain following the onset of abdominal pain is characteristic of intraperitoneal bleeding and, in the appropriate clinical setting, strongly suggests a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. A coordinated evaluation includes measurement of serum human chorionic gonadotropin concentration and transabdominal or, preferably, transvaginal ultrasonography. Treatment is primarily by one of a variety of surgical techniques. Medical therapy with methotrexate or other drugs is currently under investigation.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
PubMed1988

Low back pain during pregnancy.

All pregnant women from a well defined area (the central district of the County of Ostergötland, Sweden) attending antenatal clinics over a period of seven months were interviewed with regard to low back pain during pregnancy. Of 862 women who answered the questionnaires, about half developed some degree of low back pain. Seventy-nine women who were unable to continue their work because of severe low back pain were referred to an orthopedic surgeon for an orthoneurologic examination. The most common reason for severe low back pain was dysfunction of the sacroiliac joints. Physically strenuous work and previous low back pain were factors associated with an increased risk of developing low back pain and sacroiliac dysfunction during pregnancy.

Back Pain↗
PubMed1984

Discitis as a cause of abdominal pain in children.

The purpose of this study is to draw attention to inflammatory disease of lumbar intervertebral discs in children as a source of referred abdominal pain. For three children presenting with abdominal pain the eventual diagnosis was discitis of the lumbar spine. Failure to examine the patient's backs at the initial examinations resulted in a delay in diagnosis ranging from 66 to 2 days. Treatment with antibiotics and spinal jacket was effective in all cases.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1981

Zomepirac sodium vs APC with codeine for oral surgery pain.

In this double-blind, repeat-dose study, 323 outpatients with moderate to severe pain after oral surgery assessed zomepirac sodium, a new oral, single-entity, nonnarcotic analgesic, and APC with codeine, 30 mg, a reference standard. Pain relief obtained with 100 mg of zomepirac sodium was significantly superior to that of APC with codeine, 30 mg; 50 mg of zomepirac sodium was as effective as the reference drug. The analgesic acceptability was highest for 100 mg of zomepirac sodium. Both doses of this new drug produced significantly fewer adverse reactions than APC with codeine, 30 mg.

Aspirin↗
PubMed1999

Predicting treatment compliance following facial pain evaluation.

The purpose of this study was to document compliance to treatment follow-up for facial pain patients referred for outside services. In addition, we generated a multidimensional model of the psychosocial constructs associated with chronic pain to determine whether these factors were predictive of compliance across recommended therapy modalities or with an overall measure of compliance. These constructs included pain report, depressive symptoms, anxiety, cognitive coping strategies, and physical activity reduction. The sample consisted of 80 facial pain patients evaluated at a tertiary care, facial pain clinic at a large university medical center. Compliance ratings ranged from 93% to 50% and are consistent with the literature that indicates that compliance differs across treatment modality. Furthermore, compliance rates were lower for the more nontraditional facial pain treatments performed by physical therapists or psychologists. Depression was negatively associated with compliance to medication changes, therapeutic injections, and splint therapy, but not psychological counseling or physical therapy. Increased pain was only associated with physical therapy. Measures of psychological distress (depression and anxiety) and pain were predictive of the overall measure of compliance. These results suggest that psychological distress can be a barrier for positive patient outcomes through reduced treatment compliance.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Quality indicators and variation in primary care: modelling GP referral patterns.

BACKGROUND: Health agencies frequently seek to develop indicators of the quality and performance of work done by clinicians. The validity of such indicators is a subject of debate among clinicians and health managers. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to quantify the effects of chance and small caseload on an indicator of referral behaviour for GPs. METHODS: The study used random simulation of GP referral to physiotherapy and variance components analysis of routinely collected accident insurance data. It analysed 129 079 episodes of accident-related back pain in New Zealand which were managed by 2679 GPs. The main outcome measure was the percentage of back pain cases referred for physiotherapy and for specialist assessment and by each GP. RESULTS: The observed number of GPs who refer to physiotherapy at high levels is satisfactorily accounted for by chance. The variability of practice among GPs within any one area is not related to the absolute level of referral. CONCLUSION: The primary care setting, in which a low caseload for any one condition is the norm, presents challenges for measuring clinical performance. An emphasis upon changing the behaviour of GPs with extremely high levels on a performance indicator cannot necessarily be expected to have an impact upon the level of the indicator across a geographic area. Indicators for quality improvement should be used across whole populations of practitioners, rather than used to focus upon extremely high referring individuals.

Back Pain↗
PubMed1995

Ultrasound guided aspiration of symptomatic supraspinatus calcific deposits.

11 consecutive patients with shoulder pain were referred from the shoulder clinic for plain radiography. Supraspinatus calcific deposits were suspected after other causes of shoulder pain had been eliminated by clinical examination and local anaesthetic tests. Radiographs confirmed calcific deposits in all 11 shoulders and all deposits were shown by ultrasound to be lying in the supraspinatus tendon. Using a free-hand ultrasound guidance technique, a 19 G needle was passed percutaneously into all 11 shoulders in an attempt to aspirate the deposit. Six patients experienced immediate pain relief or relief on the same day, whilst four others were pain free at the 2 weeks follow-up clinic. One patient who was though to have a co-existing supraspinatus tear diagnosed by the scan was symptomatically unchanged.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Untreatable pain resulting from abdominal cancer: new hope from biophysics?

CONTEXT: Visceral pain characterizing pancreatic cancer is the most difficult symptom of the disease to control and can significantly impair the quality of life which remains and increase the demand for euthanasia. AIM: To investigate a possible new method based on biophysical principles (scrambler therapy) to be used in the effective treatment of drug-resistant oncological pain of the visceral/neuropathic type. SETTING: Eleven terminal cancer patients (3 pancreas, 4 colon, 4 gastric) suffering from elevated drug resistant visceral pain. DESIGN: The trial program was related to the first ten treatment sessions. Subsequently, each patient continued to receive treatment until death. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain measures were performed using the visual analogue scale before and after each treatment session and accompanied by diary recordings of the duration of analgesia in the hours following each single application. Any variation in pain-killing drug consumption was also recorded. RESULTS: All patients reacted positively to the treatment throughout the whole reference period. Pain intensity showed a significant decrease (P<0.001), accompanied by a gradual rise both in the pain threshold and the duration of analgesia. Nine (81.8%) of the patients suspended pain-killers within the first 5 applications, while the remaining two (18.2%) considerably reduced the dosage taken prior to scrambler therapy. No undesirable side effects were observed. Compliance was found to be optimal. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary results obtained using scrambler therapy are extremely encouraging, both in terms of enhanced pain control after each treatment session and in view of the possible maintenance of effectiveness over time.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1992

Upper extremity pain in the postrehabilitation spinal cord injured patient.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of upper extremity (UE) pain in outpatients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). A total of 239 SCI outpatients (136 with quadriplegia and 103 with paraplegia) were interviewed for the presence of UE pain at the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand. The average age of the subjects at the time of interview was 37.4 years, and the average time since onset was 12.1 years. Subjects who reported pain were referred to SCI clinics to determine the etiology. Fifty-five percent of the patients with quadriplegia reported UE pain, most commonly at the shoulder. Prevalence of reported pain was highest for subjects in the first five years postinjury. Sixty-four percent of patients with paraplegia reported UE pain. Complaints related to carpal tunnel syndrome were the most common, followed by those related to shoulder pain. This study documents the prevalence and nature of UE pain in chronic SCI patients and emphasizes the need for further research to develop strategies for prevention and treatment of pain syndromes.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Beta-endorphin concentrations both in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid in response to acute painful stimuli.

The beta-endorphin-like-immunoreactivity (beta-ELI) has been evaluated both in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 30 patients during trans-sphenoidal surgery. Blood and liquoral samples were collected in five conditions: (1) "reference", (2) "pain", (3) "analgesia", (4) "end", and (5) "24th hour". A significant rise of both plasma and liquoral beta-ELI levels (p less than 0.00001 and p less than 0.08, respectively) when compared to basal ones occurred following the painful stimulation due to the divarication of the nasal mucosa by speculum. A significant decrease (p less than 0.01) was noticed for plasma concentrations at the third sample followed by a new significant increase at the end of the operation, (p less than 0.05 when compared to the third sample and p less than 0.01 when compared to the reference sample). In CSF, beta-ELI levels decreased at the third sample (p less than 0.01 when compared to the painful levels) and at the end of surgery (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05 vs first, second and third samples, respectively). Twenty-four hours after surgery either plasma and liquoral beta-ELI levels decreased (p less than 0.05). The modifications of the opiatergic system after acute painful stimuli should be, hence, characterized by an early rise followed by a progressive decrease of beta-ELI concentrations. The increase of plasma beta-ELI levels, at the end of surgery, could be due to pituitary manipulation with massive release in the peripheral blood.

Acute Disease↗