The Clinical journal of pain
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Many clinical trials report significant improvements in osteoarthritis-related pain and function after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Opioids are commonly prescribed for pain management of knee osteoarthritis and also perioperative pain after surgery. The extent of persistent opioid use after TKA is unknown. Because up to 20% of individuals have poor outcomes after TKA and prior opioid use is a risk factor for future opioid use, treatment effects from TKA clinical trials would be better understood by assessing opioid use data from trial participants. The purpose of this review was to determine the proportion of participants in TKA trials with opioid use before surgery and persistent use after surgery and how well clinical trials capture and report these variables. ⋯ Based on available research, it is not possible to determine if TKA is effective in reducing reliance on opioids for pain management. It also highlights the need to better track and report prior and long-term opioid use as a core outcome in future TKA trials.
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Meta Analysis
The Use of Virtual Reality in the Rehabilitation of Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
There has been a major interest in using virtual reality (VR) as a pain-management tool. This systematic review evaluated the literature on the use of VR in the treatment of chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNNP). ⋯ Our results suggest that VR is a promising tool for chronic pain management; however, there is a lack of VR intervention design consistency, objective outcome measures, follow-up reporting, and large sample sizes. Future research should focus on designing VR interventions to serve specific, individualized movement goals as well as combining quantifiable outcomes with existing self-report measures.
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Review
Rehabilitation Interventions for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome; An Overview of Systematic Reviews.
An increasing number of systematic reviews have been conducted on various conservative management of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) targeting different rehabilitation interventions and objectives. The intent of this article was to summarize and critically appraise the body of evidence on conservative management of the CRPS and to provide an overall picture of the current state of the literature. ⋯ The evidence is in favor of adopting movement representation techniques, such as MT and GMI programs, for the treatment of pain and disability in patients with CRPS. However, this is based on a small body of primary evidence, and more research is required to generate conclusions. Overall, the evidence is not comprehensive or of sufficient quality to make definitive recommendations about the effectiveness of other rehabilitation interventions in improving pain and disability.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Dexamethasone Plus Bupivacaine Versus Bupivacaine in Bilateral Trans-incisional Paravertebral Block in Lumbar Spine Surgeries, a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Few studies examined the analgesic effects of dexamethasone in lumbar paravertebral block, specifically the transincisional approach. This study aimed to compare dexamethasone with bupivacaine versus bupivacaine alone for bilateral transincisional paravertebral block (TiPVB) for postoperative analgesia in lumbar spine surgeries. ⋯ Adding dexamethasone to bupivacaine in TiPVB resulted in a prolonged analgesia-free period and lower opioid consumption in lumbar spine surgeries with comparable incidence of adverse events.
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Meta Analysis
Is Lidocaine Patch Beneficial for Postoperative Pain: A Meta-analysis of raNdomized Clinical Trials.
The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate whether a lidocaine patch is beneficial for postoperative pain as an option for multimodal analgesia. ⋯ Lidocaine patches are beneficial for postoperative pain and can be used in multimodal analgesia to reduce opioid use, but there is no significant increase in patient satisfaction with pain control. More data are needed to support this conclusion due to the large heterogeneity in the present study.