Pain
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Droperidol has both anti-emetic and neuroleptic properties and its epidural administration has been reported (Naji et al. 1990). Its side effects when administered via this route are not known. We report a case of long-term (2 months) epidural administration of droperidol to a cancer patient who was receiving epidural morphine and who manifested nausea and vomiting. Akathisia developed progressively and subsided 72 h after droperidol was discontinued.
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Spatial summation of thermal pain has recently been reported when stimulus presentations were restricted within a single dermatome. The present study examined whether the magnitude of spatial summation of human thermal pain perception would vary when stimuli were presented within vs. between adjacent dermatomes. Noxious contact heat stimuli from 43 degrees C to 51 degrees C (5 sec duration) were applied to the forearm using areas of 0.21-2.10 cm2. ⋯ For stimuli from 45 degrees C to 51 degrees C, there was a significant increase in ratings with increasing stimulus area for both intensity and unpleasantness. When two thermodes were used simultaneously in adjacent dermatomes, the ratings did not differ significantly from those for the same stimulus area in a single dermatome. We conclude that spatial summation both within and between dermatomes plays a significant role in thermal pain perception across the range from threshold to tolerance.
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The effect of the presence of either chronic or acute clinical pain on pain threshold and on the nociceptive flexion reflex (RIII) threshold was studied. The experimental pain sensation and the flexion reflex were evoked by trains of short electrical pulses. It was hypothesized that both kinds of clinical pain would be able to induce 'diffuse noxious inhibitory controls' (DNIC) and thereby raise the 2 experimental thresholds. ⋯ The adaptation level theory offers an alternative explanation. Also, the acute postoperative pain in this study did not seem to induce DNIC. Because other forms of acute pain have been found to be effective in activating DNIC, future research should establish which pains are and which pains are not effective.
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In this open, uncontrolled trial, 15 patients with severe incident cancer pain receiving regular opiates were administered 10 mg oral methylphenidate (MP) at 08.00 h and 15 mg at 12.00 h in order to antagonize opiate-induced sedation. The daily dose of opiate was increased by 30% 24 h after starting MP, followed by a 10% increase twice a day until maximal tolerated dose. ⋯ We conclude that the addition of MP allowed for an increase in the MEDD of morphine and increased pain control. Controlled double-blind trials should be performed.
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We have developed a new method for the collection and analysis of pain drawings, as part of a computer-controlled, patient-interactive system for use with implanted neurological stimulators. The system has been tested in 44 patients with permanently implanted spinal cord stimulators for the relief of chronic, intractable pain. Patients interact directly with the system, using a graphics tablet, to enter pain drawings and corresponding outlines of their perceptions of stimulation paresthesias, for different stimulating pulse parameters and electrode geometries. ⋯ One particular configuration (cathode(s) flanked by anode(s) above and below) is significantly better, by this measure, than all the alternatives. This is consistent with prior clinical observations that this configuration is favored by patients whose systems have been adjusted by conventional, manual methods. Pain drawing' entry and analysis by a computerized, patient-interactive system has been useful in this specialized setting and may have broader applications.