Pain
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Comparative Study
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale in African American and Caucasian Workers' Compensation claimants with low back injuries.
Pain catastrophizing is an important cognitive construct that has been linked with many aspects of the pain experience, including pain intensity, emotional distress, pain-related disability, and pain behavior. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), an instrument often used to assess this construct, reflects three aspects of catastrophizing: Rumination, Magnification, and Helplessness. ⋯ Results indicated that a two-factor model of the PCS (Rumination and 'Powerlessness,' the latter a combination of the PCS Magnification and Helplessness scores) was the most parsimonious fit to the data, particularly in the African American sample. Future research in other clinical samples that include African Americans is needed to examine the stability of the results reported here.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Significantly higher methadone dose for methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients with chronic pain.
The aim of this study is to characterize patients with chronic pain in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Between September and December, 2003, 170 consecutive patients from an MMT clinic participated in a questionnaire survey on pain (duration and severity). Chronic pain was defined as current pain lasting for >or=6 months. ⋯ Patients in the non-pain group (n=76) were receiving 147.1+/-52.8 mg/day of methadone (ANOVA, F=3.1, P=0.03). We conclude that pain duration and severity significantly correlated. Although methadone was not prescribed for the treatment of pain but rather for opiate addiction, the patients in the MMT clinic with prolonged pain were prescribed a significantly higher methadone dosage compared to patients with short pain duration, and non-pain patients.
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Comparative Study
Spinal noradrenaline transporter inhibition by reboxetine and Xen2174 reduces tactile hypersensitivity after surgery in rats.
Spinal noradrenaline (NA) released in response to noxious stimuli may play an important role in suppression of nociceptive transmission. Here, we investigated the efficacy of a competitive NA transporter inhibitor (reboxetine) and a noncompetitive NA transporter inhibitor peptide, Xen2174, isolated from the Pacific cone snail, to treat tactile hypersensitivity following paw incisional surgery. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized, an incision of the plantar aspect of the hind paw was performed, and withdrawal threshold to von Frey filaments near the surgical site determined. ⋯ The anti-hypersensitivity effect of 10 microg of Xen2174 was totally blocked by the alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist, idazoxan, and partially blocked by the muscarinic antagonist, atropine. These data suggest that selective NA transporter inhibition suppresses post-incisional hypersensitivity through a different mechanism from that of neuropathic pain, since we previously reported that reversal of hypersensitivity by intrathecal clonidine, an alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist, following spinal nerve ligation is completely blocked by intrathecal atropine. Finally, these data suggest that intrathecal administration of Xen2174 at the time of spinal anesthesia might produce postoperative analgesia in humans.
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While effective self-management of chronic pain is important, clinic-based studies exclude the more typical pattern of self-management that occurs in the community, often without reference to health professionals. We examined specific hypotheses about the use of self-management strategies in a population-based study of chronic pain subjects. Data came from an Australian population-based random digit dialling computer-assisted telephone survey and included 474 adults aged 18 or over with chronic pain (response rate 73.4%). ⋯ Self-management strategies were associated with both pain-related disability and use of health services in multiple logistic regression models. Using passive strategies increased the likelihood of having high levels of pain-related disability (adjusted OR 2.59) and more pain-related health care visits (adjusted OR 2.9); using active strategies substantially reduced the likelihood of having high levels of pain-related disability (adjusted OR 0.2). In conclusion, we have shown in a population-based study that clinical findings regarding self-management strategies apply to the broader population and advocate that more attention be given to community-based strategies for improving awareness and uptake of active self-management strategies for chronic pain.
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Comparative Study
Dimensions of catastrophic thinking associated with pain experience and disability in patients with neuropathic pain conditions.
The objective of the present study was to examine the relative contributions of different dimensions of catastrophic thinking (i.e. rumination, magnification, helplessness) to the pain experience and disability associated with neuropathic pain. Eighty patients with diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, post-surgical or post-traumatic neuropathic pain who had volunteered for participation in a clinical trial formed the basis of the present analyses. Spontaneous pain was assessed with the sensory and affective subscales of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. ⋯ Catastrophizing predicted pain-related disability over and above the variance accounted for by pain severity. The findings are discussed in terms of mechanisms linking catastrophic thinking to pain experience. Treatment implications are addressed.