The Clinical journal of pain
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Systems controlling cardiovascular function are closely coupled with the perception of pain. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a well-established noninvasive measure of cardiac autonomic control. We hypothesized that pain may alter HRV in the newborn infant and that HRV analysis could be used as an indicator of prolonged pain in the newborn infant. ⋯ The results of this study indicate that postoperative pain is associated with a decreased high-frequency HRV in full-term newborn infants. Our findings suggest that HRV could be used as an indicator to assess prolonged pain in the newborn infants.
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The aims of this study were 2-fold: (1) to investigate the consequences of opioid use in individuals with chronic pain in the Danish population, and (2) to investigate the development of and recovery from chronic pain from 2000 to 2005. ⋯ The annual incidence for the development of and the recovery from chronic pain was 2.7% and 9.4%, respectively. Increasing age up to 64 years, short education, poor self-rated health, high body mass index, and physical strain at work were predictors of chronic pain. The odds of recovery from chronic pain were almost 4 times higher among individuals not using opioids compared with individuals using opioids. In addition, use of strong opioids was associated with poor health-related quality of life. Furthermore, the results indicated that individuals with chronic pain using strong opioids pain had a higher risk of death than individuals without chronic pain (HR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.03-2.70). However, this study cannot exclude disease severity as the primary cause of increased mortality.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease resulting in substantial pain. The physical and emotional effects of RA are well known, but little attention has been given to the potential cognitive effects of RA pain, although intact executive functioning in patients with chronic illness is crucial for the successful completion of many daily activities. We examined the relationship between pain and executive functioning in patients with RA, and also considered the influence of positive and negative affect in the relationship between pain and executive functioning. ⋯ These findings are discussed in the context of cognitive research on the effects of positive affect on executive functioning and functional neuroanatomical research suggesting neurocognitive mechanisms for such moderation.
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(1) To investigate the development of hypoesthesia from soon after the whiplash injury to 6 months postinjury and (2) to determine differences in detection thresholds between those with initial features of poor recovery and those without these signs. ⋯ Sensory hypoesthesia is a feature of acute WAD but persists only in those at higher risk of poor recovery. These findings suggest the involvement of the central inhibitory mechanisms that may be sustained by ongoing nociception.