The Clinical journal of pain
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Venous blood sampling is one of the most common diagnostic medical procedures performed in clinical practice. It has been shown that negatively loaded words may result in negative affective reactions and, consequently, in an increased perception of pain. We aimed to evaluate whether common warnings before venous blood sampling might induce unnecessary pain. ⋯ Words associated with pain increase the perception of pain during venous blood sampling. Omitting these words may be a simple and essential method by which to avoid unnecessary pain.
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Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) syndrome is a rare type of trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia. SUNCT syndrome is typically idiopathic, and secondary SUNCT syndrome after indirect injury is very rare. We report a case of SUNCT syndrome manifested dramatically after a whiplash injury and treated by greater occipital nerve (GON) block. ⋯ Secondary SUNCT syndrome induced by whiplash injury is rare. Our case showed good outcome of SUNCT syndrome treated by GON.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
A comparative investigation of observational pain assessment tools for older adults with dementia.
Pain assessment in patients with dementia and severe limitations in ability to communicate can be challenging. The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) encourages the incorporation of 6 behavioral domains (ie, facial expressions, verbalizations/vocalizations, body movements, changes in interpersonal interactions, changes in activity patterns/routines and mental status changes) when conducting pain assessments among seniors with dementia. We investigated 6 observational pain assessment measures (differing with respect to the extent that they cover the AGS-recommended domains) under 2 different pain conditions (ie, influenza vaccination and movement-exacerbated pain) in a sample of long-term care residents with cognitive impairments. Given that a criticism of pain assessment scales is that many of the pain behaviors assessed are highly overlapping with symptoms of delirium, we also investigated the impact of the elimination of delirium-related items. ⋯ Our results provide much needed psychometric information regarding newly developed pain assessments measures for seniors with dementia. The measures differed with respect to ability to differentiate pain-related from non-pain-related states. Moreover, our findings support the utility of comprehensive coverage of the AGS-recommended pain assessment domains.
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This study in children and young adults having cancer-related amputation aimed to examine the incidence of phantom limb pain (PLP) in the first year after amputation and also the proportion of patients who had preamputation pain. ⋯ PLP after cancer-related amputation in children and young adults seems to be common but generally short lived in most patients.