The Clinical journal of pain
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Prediction of Postoperative Pain from Electrical Pain Thresholds after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.
Early postoperative pain correlates to persisting pain, psychosocial distress, and delayed mobilization with thromboembolic and infectious complications. Electrical pain thresholds (EPT) have shown promising results in being able to predict postoperative pain, but the results are conflicting. The aim of this study was to test whether EPT levels can be used to predict the postoperative pain in patients of both sexes. ⋯ Levels of EPT are reproducible, and the technique is well tolerated. However, it can be used to predict postoperative pain only in women. A weak correlation with the postoperative pain intensity, found here as well as previously, and the high sex dependency of the EPT levels obtained considerably limit the predictive value of this technique for routine use in perioperative clinical practice.
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This study was designed to establish preliminary feasibility testing of a set of inherently benign somatosensory stimulus-response tests (to cutaneous and deep stimuli) for bedside or office evaluation of pain disorders in children and adolescents. Associations between, and the relative influence of, cutaneous somatosensory testing (SST) responses, deep SST responses, and psychological factors (depression, pain-related catastrophizing) on pain outcomes (worst pain intensity, pain-related disability) were considered. ⋯ Preliminary feasibility of a set of somatosensory stimulus-response tests for bedside or office evaluation of pain disorders in children and adolescents was established. Deep pressure responses contributed unique information in predicting worst pain intensity but not functional interference. Although cutaneous SST responses at the PSs were frequently abnormal, cutaneous SST responses were not confirmed in this study to have clinical utility, but rather might be centrally mediated epiphenomena.