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Although chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is a major health care problem, pain-related functional interference has rarely been investigated. Using the PAIN OUT registry, we evaluated patients' pain-related outcomes on the first postoperative day, and their pain-related interference with daily living (Brief Pain Inventory) and neuropathic symptoms (DN4: douleur neuropathique en 4 questions) at 6 months after surgery. Endpoints were pain interference total scores (PITS) and their association with pain and DN4 scores. Furthermore, possible risk factors associated with impaired function at M6 were analyzed by ordinal regression analysis with PITS groups (no to mild, moderate, and severe interference) as a dependent three-stage factor. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Of 2322 patients, 15.3% reported CPSP with an average pain score ≥3 (numeric rating scale 0-10). Risk for a higher PITS group increased by 190% (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 2.9 [2.7-3.2]; P < 0.001) in patients with CPSP, compared to without CPSP. A positive DN4 independently increased risk by 29% (1.3 [1.12-1.45]; P < 0.001). Preexisting chronic pain (3.6 [2.6-5.1]; P < 0.001), time spent in severe acute pain (2.9 [1.3-6.4]; P = 0.008), neurosurgical back surgery in males (3.6 [1.7-7.6]; P < 0.001), and orthopedic surgery in females (1.7 [1.0-3.0]; P = 0.036) were the variables with strongest association with PITS. Pain interference total scores might provide more precise information about patients' outcomes than pain scores only. Because neuropathic symptoms increase PITS, a suitable instrument for their routine assessment should be defined.
Learn More >Numerous reports highlight variations in pain clinic provision between services, particularly in the provision of multidisciplinary services and length of waiting times. A National Audit aims to identify and quantify these variations, to facilitate raising standards of care in identified areas of need. This article describes a Quality Improvement Programme cycle covering England and Wales that used such an approach to remedy the paucity of data on the current state of UK pain clinics.
Learn More >An evaluation of the behavioral inhibition and behavioral activation system (BIS-BAS) model of pain.
This study evaluated the behavioral inhibition and activation system (BIS-BAS) model of pain. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) as a possible neurophysiological correlate of the BIS-BAS was also explored, as was the role of personality factors.
Learn More >N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are involved in pain signalling and neuroplasticity. Memantine has been shown to have analgesic properties in pre-clinical and small clinical studies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of memantine to prevent or reduce chronic pain.
Learn More >Consciousness, defined here as the quality of awareness of self and the corresponding sensory environment, is considered to be one of most enigmatic and contentious areas of scholarly dissection and investigation. The subjective experience of pain is constructed and modulated by a myriad of sensory, cognitive and affective dimensions. Thus, the study of pain can provide many inroads to a concept like consciousness that the traditional sense modalities do not. Mindfulness defined here as non-reactive awareness of the present moment, can uniquely control and/or modulate particular substrates of conscious experience. Thus, in combination with brain imaging methodologies, we propose that the interactions between pain and mindfulness could serve as a more comprehensive platform to disentangle the biological and psychological substrates of conscious experience. The present review provides a brief synopsis on how combining the study of pain and mindfulness can inform the study of consciousness, delineates the multiple, unique brain mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based pain relief, and describes how mindfulness uniquely improves the affective dimension of pain, an important consideration for the treatment of chronic pain.
Learn More >Central neuropathic pain develops in greater than 75% of individuals suffering a spinal cord injury (SCI). Increasingly, sex is recognized as an important biological variable in the development and treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain, but much less is known about the role of sex in central neuropathic pain and its pharmacological inhibition. To test the hypothesis that the efficacy of analgesic therapies differs between males and females in SCI, we used a mouse model of SCI pain to determine the analgesic efficacy of pioglitazone (PIO), an FDA approved drug for the treatment of diabetes, and azithromycin (AZM), a commonly prescribed macrolide antibiotic with immunomodulatory properties. Male and female mice received moderate-severe T9 contusion SCI (75-kdyn). A robust heat hyperalgesia developed similarly between male and female mice by 4 weeks post-injury and lasted throughout the duration of the study (14 weeks). Three months after SCI, mice were treated with PIO (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal) or AZM (160mg/kg oral). We observed a sex-specific effect of PIO with significant anti-hyperalgesic effects in females but not males. In contrast, AZM was effective in both sexes. Our data support the use of PIO and AZM as novel therapies for SCI pain and highlight the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in clinical and experimental SCI pain research.
Learn More >Although opioids are an important component of pain management for children recovering from surgery, postoperative opioid prescribing has contributed to the current opioid crisis in the United States because these medications are often prescribed in excess and are rarely properly disposed. One potential strategy to combat opioid misuse is to remove excess postoperative opioids from circulation by providing patients with drug disposal products that enable safe disposal of opioids in the home garbage.
Learn More >Long-term stress was suggested to cause visceral hypersensitivity and promote functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). Some brain regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) may play an important role for generating visceral hypersensitivity; however, its molecular mechanisms are not clear. This study aimed to explore the role of 5-HT1A receptors (HTR1As) in activating ACC and corresponding mechanism, in stress-induced visceral hyperalgesia rats.
Learn More >We evaluated the frequency of six commonly reported adult migraine premonitory symptoms in children and adolescents with episodic and chronic migraine and elicited psychological or behavioral comorbidities that may be associated with these symptoms.
Learn More >The parent's role in the context of pediatric chronic pain is essential. There is growing evidence that parent psychological flexibility positively impacts child functioning. To assess parents' abilities to respond with psychological flexibility to their child's pain, the Parent Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (PPFQ) was developed. Here, we aim to validate the 10-item version of the questionnaire in an English-speaking population and to evaluate associations with parent behavior, child pain acceptance and functioning.
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