Pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of injected capsaicin for pain in Morton's neuroma.
Intermetatarsal neuroma or Morton's neuroma is a painful condition of the foot resulting from an entrapment of the common digital nerve typically in the third intermetatarsal space. The pain can be severe and especially problematic with walking. Treatment options are limited and surgery may lead to permanent numbness in the toes. ⋯ A trend toward significance was noted at weeks 2 and 3. Improvements in functional interference scores and reductions in oral analgesic use were also seen in the capsaicin-treated group. These findings suggest that injection of capsaicin is an efficacious treatment option for patients with painful intermetatarsal neuroma.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Problem Solving Skills Training for Parents of Children with Chronic Pain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
This pilot randomized controlled trial aimed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of parental problem-solving skills training (PSST) compared with treatment as usual on improving parental mental health symptoms, physical health and well-being, and parenting behaviors. Effects of parent PSST on child outcomes (pain, emotional, and physical functioning) were also examined. Participants included 61 parents of children aged 10 to 17 years with chronic pain randomized to PSST (n = 31) or treatment as usual (n = 30) groups. ⋯ Findings demonstrate that PSST is feasible and acceptable to parents of youths with chronic pain. Treatment outcome analyses show promising but mixed patterns of effects of PSST on parent and child mental health outcomes. Further rigorous trials of PSST are needed to extend these pilot results.
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The drugs available for treatment of neuropathic pain have somewhat disappointing efficacy with many patients left with limited or no effect. Individualized treatment based on phenotype according to presumed underlying pain mechanism(s) has been proposed to improve outcomes. We report a retrospective analysis of phenotype-specific effects of several neuropathic pain drugs, which were studied in a series of crossover, placebo-controlled, clinical trials. ⋯ No phenotype-specific effects were found for venlafaxine, escitalopram, oxcarbazepine, valproic acid, levetiracetam, or St. John's wort. Thus, this post hoc analysis of 8 drugs with mainly nonselective actions on neuropathic pain mechanisms found limited usefulness of sensory phenotyping in pain as the basis for individualized treatment.