Pain
-
Research has indicated that the way individuals cope with pain may influence pain, and physical and psychological adjustment. The present study assessed the relationship between coping strategy use and adjustment in amputees with phantom limb pain (PLP). Coping strategies were measured using the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and their relationship with adjustment was examined using both composite scores and individual strategy scores. ⋯ Catastrophizing also explained a large proportion of the variance in physical and psychosocial dysfunction (11% and 22%), while hoping or praying strategies accounted for only a small proportion of the variance in physical dysfunction (3%), and re-interpreting pain sensations accounted for a small proportion of the variance in psychosocial dysfunction (3%). The findings in this study have important clinical implications in that coping strategy use was associated with increased, rather than decreased, levels of pain and disability. However, since the reported use of coping strategies in the present study was low, further research, perhaps utilizing other measures of coping, is required to clarify these findings.
-
Antinociceptive tolerance to morphine (MOR) was induced in groups of Sprague-Dawley rats receiving continuous intravenous infusions of morphine sulphate administered by 3 different MOR dosing regimes. At appropriate intervals throughout each infusion period, antinociceptive testing was performed using the tail-flick latency test and blood samples were collected. Groups of saline (SAL)-infused control rats also underwent antinociceptive testing and blood sample collection. ⋯ In addition, a poor relationship was observed between %MPE and the mean plasma MOR concentration, possibly due to the confounding presence of M3G in all samples. Thus, we may conclude from this study in Sprague-Dawley rats that irrespective of the rate of antinociceptive tolerance development, the level of antinociception achievable appears to be highly inversely correlated with the mean [M3G]/[MOR] plasma molar concentration ratio and poorly correlated with the plasma MOR concentration, consistent with the notion that it is perhaps the balance between the excitatory effects of M3G and the inhibitory effects of MOR at the functional level which is the important determinant. Further research is required in carefully conducted studies in cancer patients to evaluate the possible contribution of the MOR metabolites, M3G and morphine-6-glucuronide (MbG), to increasing dosing requirements of MOR.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)