The Clinical journal of pain
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Ecological momentary assessment has been recommended in the management of chronic pain. Smartphone apps might be a useful tool for that purpose. This goal of this study was to develop and test a multidimensional smartphone app for adults with chronic pain. A multidisciplinary team developed the app content after a series of meetings, considering clinical guidelines for pain measurement. The content included pain intensity and interference, fatigue, mood, perceived health status, activity level, side effects of the medication, use of rescue medication, and pain-related sychological constructs (catastrophizing, acceptance, fear, and coping). ⋯ The new assessment protocol in the app allows for an easy and rapid multidimensional assessment of chronic pain patients.
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It is important to identify aspects of analgesic use that are associated with harm in chronic pain. Historically, the focus has been patterns of use (eg, overuse). This study evaluated another aspect of use-rather than evaluating how analgesics were being used, the primary interest was in why they were being used. ⋯ Results support the utility of examining reasons for analgesic use; use to achieve emotional modulation/sedation may be particularly associated with risk. The data also provide support for the questionnaire developed, the Reasons for Analgesic Use Measure.
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Over 25% of Persian Gulf War (PGW) veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI) (chronic health symptoms of undetermined etiology) developed gastrointestinal (GI) (diarrhea and abdominal pain) and other somatic symptoms. ⋯ Our findings show that there is widespread somatic hypersensitivity in veterans with GWI/GI symptoms that is positively correlated with abdominal pain ratings. In addition, veterans with somatic hypersensitivity that overlap have the greatest number of extraintestinal symptoms. These findings may have a translational benefit: strategies for developing more effective therapeutic agents that can reduce and/or prevent somatic and GI symptoms in veterans deployed to future military conflicts.
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It has been reported that the optimal concentration of epidural dexmedetomidine for labor analgesia is 0.5 μg/mL when combined with 0.1% ropivacaine. This study investigated the median effective concentration (EC50) of epidural ropivacaine for labor analgesia when combined with 0.5 μg/mL dexmedetomidine. ⋯ The EC50 of epidural ropivacaine for labor analgesia was 0.083% (95% CI, 0.077%-0.089%) and decreased to 0.062% (95% CI, 0.058%-0.066%) when combined with 0.5 μg/mL dexmedetomidine (http://www.chictr.org.cn, registration number: ChiCTR-OPC-16008548).
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The birth of a preterm infant and witnessing ones' infant in pain is remembered by parents as being one of the most stressful aspects of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are highly prevalent among mothers of preterm infants, however, little is known about mothers' memories of invasive procedures in the NICU and how these memories may contribute to the development of PTSS. We examined the relationships between number of invasive procedures, mothers' memories of these procedures, and their PTSS at discharge from the NICU. ⋯ Greater neonatal exposure to invasive procedures and mothers' recall of these procedures were related to mothers' posttraumatic stress symptomatology at discharge. Invasive procedures in the NICU represent an important target area for neonatal intervention to reduce maternal distress and improve outcomes.