Pain
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Comparison between celiac plexus block and morphine treatment on quality of life in patients with pancreatic cancer pain.
Twenty-one patients with pancreatic cancer pain were studied to evaluate the effectiveness of celiac plexus block (CPB) on pain relief and quality of life (QOL), compared to the traditional NSAID-morphine treatment. The criteria were morphine consumption, visual analogue pain scale (VAS), performance status (PS) determined by medical and nursing staffs, and answers to QOL questionnaires. Morphine consumption, VAS, PS, and self-assessed QOL scores were taken when the administration of morphine was necessary for pain relief and those scores were used as control. ⋯ Self-assessed QOL scores did not ameliorate statistically after CPB; however, they did deteriorate remarkably in the patients treated only with morphine-NSAID during their survival periods, while they deteriorated only slightly in the CPB group. There were fewer side effects after CPB. These results indicate CPB does not directly improve QOL in patients with pancreatic cancer pain, but it may prevent deterioration in QOL by the long-lasting analgesic effect, limitation of side effects and the reduction of morphine consumption, compared to treatment only with NSAID-morphine.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Active and passive coping strategies in chronic pain patients.
This study assessed the validity of active and passive coping dimensions in chronic pain patients (n = 76) using the Coping Strategies Questionnaire and the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory. The validity of active and passive coping dimensions was supported; passive coping was strongly related to general psychological distress and depression, and active coping was associated with activity level and was inversely related to psychological distress. In addition, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire was found to be a more psychometrically sound measure of active and passive coping than the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory.
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The second exteroceptive suppression of masseter muscle activity (ES2) and tenderness in pericranial muscles were evaluated in 112 young adults who met IHS criteria in the following diagnostic classifications: 31 chronic tension headache, 31 episodic tension headache, 33 migraine without aura and 17 migraine with aura. An additional 31 subjects served as controls. Pericranial muscle tenderness better distinguished diagnostic subgroups and better distinguished recurrent headache sufferers from controls than did masseter ES2. ⋯ All chronic tension headache sufferers exhibited muscle tenderness in at least one of the pericranial muscles evaluated, while tenderness was exhibited by 52% of controls. The association between pericranial muscle tenderness and chronic tension headache was independent of the intensity, frequency, or chronicity of headaches. Our findings raise the possibility that pericranial muscle tenderness is present early in the development of tension headache, while ES2 suppression only emerges later in the evolution of the disorder.
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We asked 78 chronic low back pain patients to report on their usual pain intensity, and on the lifestyle changes caused by their pain, on a horizontally-oriented visual analogue scale (VAS). Also, the usual and the current pain intensities were examined on a vertical VAS. Statistical analysis showed normal distribution of data in the measurement of usual pain on the horizontal VAS, but no homogeneous distribution on the vertical VAS. ⋯ Also, there was no reduction of the failure rate by giving additional oral explanations in the use of the scale to the patient. Owing to a negative influence in distribution of rates and an increase in the failure rate, complex questions should be avoided. A short written introduction to the scale is sufficient, and oral explanations are not essential.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The opposite effects of the opiate antagonist naloxone and the cholecystokinin antagonist proglumide on placebo analgesia.
Discovery of the involvement of endogenous opiates in placebo analgesia represents an important step in understanding the mechanisms underlying placebo response. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the opiate antagonist naloxone and the cholecystokinin antagonist proglumide on placebo analgesia in a human model of experimentally induced ischemic pain. First, we found that part of the placebo response was reversed by naloxone, confirming previous studies on the role of opioids in the placebo phenomenon. ⋯ The placebo effect can thus be modulated in two opposite directions: it can be partially abolished by naloxone and potentiated by proglumide. The fact that placebo potentiation by proglumide occurred only in placebo responders, but not in non-responders, suggests that activation of an endogenous opiate system is a necessary condition for the action of proglumide. These results suggest an inhibitory role for cholecystokinin in placebo response, although the low affinity of proglumide for cholecystokinin receptors does not rule out the possibility of other mechanisms.