Pain
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Concerns over prescription opioids contributing to high levels of opioid use disorder and overdose have led policymakers and clinicians to seek means to reduce inappropriate and high-dose initial prescriptions. To inform such efforts, we sought to describe the clinical indications associated with opioid initiation and the characteristics of the initial prescriptions and patients through a retrospective population-based cohort study. Our cohort included Ontarians initiating prescription opioids for pain management between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2016. ⋯ Individuals with postsurgical pain received the highest daily doses (40.5% with greater than 50 milligram morphine equivalent), and those with musculoskeletal pain received more initial prescriptions with a duration exceeding 7 days (34.2%). Opioids are initiated for a wide range of indications with varying doses and durations; yet, those who initiated opioids for postsurgical and musculoskeletal pain received the greatest doses and durations of therapy, respectively. These findings may help tailor and prioritize efforts to promote more appropriate opioid prescribing.
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Appropriate pain measurement relies on the use of valid, reliable tools. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the psychometric properties of 3 self-reported pain scales commonly used in the pediatric emergency department (ED). The inclusion criteria were children aged 6 to 17 years presenting to the ED with a musculoskeletal injury and self-reported pain scores ≥30 mm on the mechanical Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). ⋯ Intraclass correlation coefficient and coefficient of repeatability estimates suggested acceptable reliability for the 3 scales at, respectively, 0.79 and ±2.29 (VAS), 0.82 and ±2.07 (CAS), and 0.76 and ±2.82 (FPS-R). The scales demonstrated good psychometric properties for children with acute pain in the ED. The VAS and CAS showed a strong convergent validity, whereas FPS-R was not in agreement with the other scales.
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Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels are increasingly recognised as key regulators of nociceptive excitability. Kcns1 is one of the first potassium channels to be associated with neuronal hyperexcitability and mechanical sensitivity in the rat, as well as pain intensity and risk of developing chronic pain in humans. Here, we show that in mice, Kcns1 is predominantly expressed in the cell body and axons of myelinated sensory neurons positive for neurofilament-200, including Aδ-fiber nociceptors and low-threshold Aβ mechanoreceptors. ⋯ After neuropathic injury, Kcns1 KO mice exhibited exaggerated mechanical pain responses and hypersensitivity to both noxious and innocuous cold, consistent with increased A-fiber activity. Interestingly, Kcns1 deletion also improved locomotor performance in the rotarod test, indicative of augmented proprioceptive signalling. Our results suggest that restoring Kcns1 function in the periphery may be of some use in ameliorating mechanical and cold pain in chronic states.