The Clinical journal of pain
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A systematic review of the literature. ⋯ The current review suggests that physicians need to improve their knowledge regarding options for modified work in the workplace, and about the management of LBP in general. The otherwise beneficial patient-physician relationship and physicians' care for their patients may be an obstacle to following guidelines on LBP management in the sick-listing process. Future studies should address these issues.
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The objective of the study was to report the evidence for effectiveness of different self-management course characteristics and components for chronic musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ Serious consideration should be given to the development of short (<8 weeks) group and healthcare professional-delivered interventions but more research is required to establish the most effective and cost-effective course components.
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Von Frey monofilaments (VFM) and Electronic von Frey are used as quantitative sensory testing to explore mechanical hyperalgesia. The aim of the study was to determine VFM and Electronic von Frey reproducibility and the time required for testing undamaged areas in volunteers and surgical in-hospital patients. ⋯ Exploration of mechanical allodynia in postoperative patients requires rapid and reliable quantitative sensory testing. Electronic von Frey was more reliable and rapid than VFM in exploring mechanical pain thresholds in undamaged areas in volunteers and patients. Further studies are required to confirm whether these results can be extrapolated to areas affected by surgery.
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Pain is a common symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and it is thought to be the result of a mixture of neuropathic and nociceptive pain. Different elements of pain need to be recognized and treated differently, but a clinical tool to classify these components still remains to be defined. ⋯ Original spontaneous descriptors, possibly pathology-specific, emerged in all groups not included in the MGPQ and pointed out the need to use assessment tools based on people experience.
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Opioid-induced constipation persists as a challenge in the management of chronic pain treated with opioid therapy. Multiple opioid antagonists have been applied in attempt to combat the gastrointestinal side effects of opioid analgesia, however their lipid-soluble nature allows passage into the central nervous system and consequent antagonism of centrally mediated analgesia. In contrast, methylnaltrexone offers the advantage of peripheral receptor-specific opioid antagonism due to chemical alterations conferring greater polarity and less lipid solubility. We present use of enteral methylnatrexone to treat severe opioid-induced constipation in a young boy who had failed treatment with the non-specific opioid antagonist, naloxone. This case reports describes the safe transition from enteral naloxone to enteral methylnaltrexone and discusses the potential risk of relative opioid toxicity during the transition. ⋯ Our case report demonstrates safe transition from enteral naloxone to enteral methylnaltrexone in a pediatric patient, avoiding the serious consequences of relative opioid toxicity. This patient experienced significant improvement of opioid-induced constipation and reduction in opioid requirements and it is possible that other patients would benefit as well. The role of enteral methylnaltrexone deserves further investigation.