Pain
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Placebos and their beneficial clinical and psychological effects are well-researched, but nocebo effects receive far less attention, despite being highly undesirable. The aim of this restricted scoping review was to examine how nocebo effects are represented in the biomedical literature and to identify the trends and gaps in existing knowledge. After searching 5 biomedical databases and 2 clinical trials registries (from their inception to December 23, 2020) for articles on nocebo effects or negative placebo effects, 1161 eligible publications were identified. ⋯ The nocebo effect was most frequently investigated in the context of pain. Studies were almost exclusively in adults and more often in healthy participants than in patients. In conclusion, in the biomedical literature, there is an overabundance of nonsystematic reviews and expert opinions and a lack of primary research and high-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses specifically dealing with nocebo effects.
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This study investigated the association between serological biomarkers at hospital admission with the development of long-term post-COVID pain symptoms in previously hospitalized coronavirus disease, 2019 (COVID-19) survivors. A cohort study including patients hospitalised because of COVID-19 in 1 urban hospital of Madrid (Spain) during the first wave of the outbreak was conducted. Hospitalisation data, clinical data, and 11 serological biomarkers were collected at hospital admission. ⋯ In conclusion, the association between serological biomarkers associated with COVID-19 severity at hospital admission and the development of post-COVID pain is small. Other factors, eg, higher number of COVID-19 onset symptoms (higher symptom load) could be more relevant for the development of post-COVID pain. Because inflammatory biomarkers were not directly analyzed, they may have stronger predictive strengths for the development of post-COVID pain symptoms.
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Low back pain (LBP) follows different pain trajectories, and patients seem to recognize their trajectory. This allows self-reported visual pain trajectories (SRVTs) to support patient-provider communication. Pain trajectories appear stable over time for many patients, but the evidence is sparse. ⋯ The preference ORs indicated that transitions occurred mainly to similar SRVTs differing in only 1 subscale. Transitions to less or more intense SRVTs were associated with changes in clinical outcomes in the expected direction. Despite distinctly different SRVTs identified, individuals reported relatively stable LBP phenotypes but with potential for change.