The Clinical journal of pain
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The aim of this study was to identify classes of individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) who share distinct severe pain profiles and evaluate differences in demographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics between classes. ⋯ Severe pain experiences in SCD are complex; however, there are subgroups of people who report similar experiences of severe pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Does Quantitative Sensory Testing Improve Prediction of Chronic Pain Trajectories? A Longitudinal Study of Youth with Functional Abdominal Pain Participating in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment.
Youth with functional abdominal pain (FAP) experience significant pain-related distress and functional impairment. Although quantitative sensory testing protocols have identified alterations in pain modulatory systems that distinguish youth with FAP from healthy controls, the extent to which evoked pain responses predict subsequent trajectories of pain symptoms and disability over and above established psychosocial risk factors is unclear. ⋯ The present findings contribute to a growing literature on the predictive utility of quantitative sensory testing indices and suggest that CPM may complement existing psychosocial risk measures in determining individualized pain-related risk profiles.
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The aim was to evaluate the safety of intravenous lidocaine for postoperative pain and the impact on opioid requirements and pain scores. ⋯ Although a majority of patients receiving lidocaine for postoperative pain experienced an AE, this did not result in discontinuation in most patients.
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Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are a commonly utilized treatment for lumbosacral radicular pain caused by intervertebral disc herniation or stenosis. Although effective in certain patient populations, ESIs have been associated with serious complications, including paralysis and death. In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety warning on the risk of injecting corticosteroids into the epidural space. The aims of this article were to review the neurological complications associated with ESIs and to compare the formulations, safety, and effectiveness of commercially available corticosteroids given by transforaminal, interlaminar, or caudal injection. ⋯ The risk of complications for transforaminal ESI is greater with particulate corticosteroids. Nonparticulate corticosteroids, which are often recommended as first-line therapy, may have a short duration of effect, and many commercial formulations contain neurotoxic preservatives. The safety profile of ESIs may continue to improve with the development of safer, sterile formulations that reduce the risk of complications while maintaining efficacy.