Journal of pain and symptom management
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Local anesthetics administered to block nerve conduction for surgical anesthesia and to provide analgesia in management of acute pain have become a standard of anesthesiology practice. These drugs have had an important role in the multimodality management of chronic pain as well, and this role is expanding since the revival of systemic administration. ⋯ There is also evidence that intravenous local anesthetics can relieve acute pain. Furthermore, the novel idea that acute procedural and postprocedural pain control with local anesthetics could prevent the development of chronic pain syndromes, including chronic neuropathic pain syndromes, adds another important potential dimension to the role of local anesthetics in pain management.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 1994
Case ReportsDelayed sympathetically maintained pain caused by electrical burn at the current's entry and exit sites.
It is not uncommon for sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) to follow electric burns at the site of current entry. The occurrence of SMP at the exit point has not been reported. ⋯ Ultrasonography was helpful in identifying the bony and soft tissue changes that occurred with SMP. Serial sympathetic blocks, oral phenytoin, and an intensive physical rehabilitation program were useful in treating this electrically induced SMP.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 1994
The assessment of constipation in terminal cancer patients admitted to a palliative care unit: a retrospective review.
Constipation is a frequent and distressing complication in patients with advanced cancer. However, very few studies have reviewed the assessment and management of these patients. The purpose of this study was to review the documentation and assessment and diagnosis of constipation in patients admitted to a Palliative Care Unit, and the correlation between those findings and radiological evidence of stool in the colon. ⋯ Assessment is insufficient in this population at high risk for severe constipation. Radiological examination may be necessary for adequate diagnosis in some patients. More research is needed in this area.