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To assess the effectiveness and reporting standards of psychological interventions for improving outcomes after total knee replacement (TKR).
Learn More >Pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) are associated with adverse outcomes including increased somatization (e.g., heightened physiological sensations that include gastroenterological and non-gastroenterological symptoms) and increased functional disability. Caregiver distress and child anxiety are separately associated with the adverse outcomes of pediatric FAPD. However, the cumulative role of caregiver (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression) and child psychological functioning (anxiety) in relation to adverse outcomes associated with FAPD, and particularly somatization, is unclear. Thus, the present investigation sought to examine the role of caregiver distress and child anxiety in relation to pain-related functioning (i.e., somatization, pain intensity, functional disability) in youth with FAPD. Data were gathered as part of a larger study examining a psychological treatment for youth with FAPD. Participants (ages 9-14) with FAPD completed measures of child anxiety, pain, and pain-related functioning. Caregivers completed a measure of caregiver distress (e.g., stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms). Pearson correlations revealed significant positive associations between child anxiety and child functional disability. Additionally, caregiver anxiety, child anxiety, and child somatization were all significantly and positively correlated with one another. Therefore, we assessed whether child anxiety may potentially mediate the relationship between caregiver anxiety and child somatization in this cross-sectional study. The indirect association between caregiver anxiety and child somatization via child anxiety was not significant. Future research including longitudinal designs to further understand the relationship between caregiver anxiety, child anxiety, and child pain-related functioning, would enhance understanding of how these potentially modifiable psychological factors may impact adverse outcomes of FAPD.
Learn More >The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the cortical metabolite concentrations in patients suffering from migraine with aura (MWA). We hypothesized that occipital γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels are lower in MWA patients.
Learn More >Monitoring trends in prescription analgesic use among adults with musculoskeletal conditions provides insight into how changing prescribing practices, guidelines, and policy measures may affect those who need pain management.
Learn More >Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disorder affecting millions worldwide, and it results in many potential medical complications throughout the life course. The hallmark of SCD is pain. Many patients experience daily chronic pain as well as intermittent, unpredictable acute vaso-occlusive painful episodes called pain crises. These pain crises often require acute medical care through the day hospital or emergency department. Following presentation, a number of these patients are subsequently admitted with continued efforts of treatment focused on palliative pain control and hydration for management. Mitigating pain crises is challenging for both the patients and their providers, given the perceived unpredictability and subjective nature of pain.
Learn More >Effective management of patients with pain requires accurate information about the prevalence, outcomes, and co-occurrence of common pain conditions. However, the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM diagnostic coding in 2015 left researchers without methods for comparing the prevalence of pain conditions before and after the transition. In this study, we developed and assessed a diagnostic framework to serve as a crosswalk between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes for common pain-related health conditions. We refined existing ICD-9-CM definitions for diagnostic clusters of common pain conditions consistent with the US National Pain Strategy and developed corresponding ICD-10-CM definitions. We then assessed the stability of prevalence estimates and associated patient socio-demographic features of each diagnostic cluster during one-year periods before and after the transition to ICD-10-CM in three US health care systems using electronic health records data for in-person encounters. Prevalence estimates and socio-demographic characteristics were similar before and after the transition. The Pain Condition ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM Crosswalk includes a full spectrum of common pain conditions to enable prevalence estimates of multiple and chronic overlapping pain conditions. This allows the tool to serve as a foundation for a broad array of pain-related health services research utilizing electronic databases. Perspective: This article details the development and assessment of the Pain Condition ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM Crosswalk, a diagnostic framework for assessing pain condition prevalence across the ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM transition. This framework can serve as a standardized tool for research on pain conditions, including health services and epidemiologic research.
Learn More >Various academic factors are known to influence pain and somatic symptoms in adolescents, but the role of academic goal orientation, school motivational climate, and school engagement are unknown. This study examined how these understudied academic factors are associated with adolescent pain and somatic symptoms and whether gender moderates the relations.
Learn More >Chronic pain occurs in 83% of Parkinson disease (PD) patients and deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown to result in pain relief in a subset of patients, though the mechanism is unclear.
Learn More >Chronic musculoskeletal pain in adolescence is a significant public health concern with 3-5% of adolescents suffering from significant pain-related disability. Pain-related fear and avoidance of activities has been found to have a significant influence on pain outcomes in children and adolescents and is a risk factor for less favorable response to treatment. To address this need, we developed graded exposure treatment for youth with chronic pain (GET Living). We describe the rationale, design, and implementation of a two-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) enhanced with single-case experimental design (SCED) methodology with a sample of 74 adolescents with chronic musculosketal pain and their parent caregivers. GET Living includes education, behavioral exposures, and parent intervention jointly delivered by pain psychology and physical therapy providers. The multidisciplinary pain management control group includes pain psychology delivered education and pain self-management skills training (e.g., relaxation, cognitive skills) and separate physical therapy. Assessments include brief daily diaries (baseline to discharge, 7-days at 3-month and 6-month follow-up), comprehensive in-person evaluations at baseline and discharge, and questionnaire across all time points (baseline, discharge, 3-month and 6-month follow-up). Primary outcome is pain-related fear avoidance. Secondary outcome is functional disability. We also outline all additional outcomes, exploratory outcomes, covariates, and implementation measures. The objective is to offer a mechanism-based, targeted intervention to youth with musculoskeletal pain to enhance likelihood of return to function.
Learn More >To explore the association between psychological factors and shoulder pain intensity, function, as well as local and generalized pressure pain hypersensitivity.
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