Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2008
Letter Case ReportsIntranasal fentanyl for episodic breathlessness.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialIndividual difference variables and the effects of progressive muscle relaxation and analgesic imagery interventions on cancer pain.
Clinicians in acute care settings are often called upon to manage cancer pain unrelieved by medications. Cognitive-behavioral strategies, such as relaxation and imagery, are recommended for cancer pain management; however, there appear to be individual differences in their effects. This pilot study examined variation in pain outcomes achieved with progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and analgesic imagery interventions among hospitalized patients with cancer pain, and assessed the influence of four individual difference variables (cognitive ability, outcome expectancy, previous experience, and concurrent symptoms) on pain relief achieved with each intervention. ⋯ Patients who achieved a meaningful improvement in pain with analgesic imagery reported greater imaging ability, more positive outcome expectancy, and fewer concurrent symptoms than those who did not achieve a meaningful reduction in pain. Similar relationships were not significant for the PMR intervention. Investigators should continue efforts to identify factors that moderate the effects of cognitive-behavioral pain coping strategies so that clinicians can identify the most beneficial treatments for individual patients.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2008
Development of a brief survey to measure nursing home residents' perceptions of pain management.
Persistent severe pain in nursing home residents remains an important public health problem. One major key to quality improvement efforts is the development of tools to assist in auditing and monitoring the quality of health care delivery to these patients. A qualitative synthesis of existing pain guidelines, and input from focus groups and an expert panel, were used to develop a 10-item instrument, the Resident Assessment of Pain Management (RAPM). ⋯ Evidence of construct validity for RAPM is based on the correlation of the pain problem score with nursing home resident satisfaction with pain management (r=0.26), reported average pain intensity (r=0.41), research nurse completion of the Minimum Data Set pain items (r=0.52), and the quality of pain documentation in the medical record (r=0.28). In conclusion, RAPM is a brief survey tool easily administered to nursing home residents that identifies important concerns with pain management. Although there is concern with the low internal consistency, RAPM demonstrates both criterion and construct validity that suggests its potential use in quality improvement efforts.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2008
Does pain mediate the pain interference with sleep problem in chronic pain? Findings from studies for management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain with duloxetine.
Although sleep problems are common in patients with chronic pain, it is unclear whether pain mediates (causes) impaired sleep. The relationship between pain and sleep has been difficult to investigate because of the potential confounds of depression and somnolence. This report used clinical trials data for duloxetine in the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) to investigate the direction of this association. ⋯ Change in sleep interference was moderately to strongly correlated (P<0.001) with changes in average pain (r=0.46) and nighttime pain severity (r=0.53). These results confirm the association between the improvement in daily pain and nighttime pain, and improvement in sleep interference for a large population without depression or somnolence. Although this association cannot establish causality, these results provide some evidence for the possibility that pain may mediate the sleep problem associated with DPNP and perhaps chronic pain in general.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2008
New insights in symptom assessment: the Chinese Versions of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form (MSAS-SF) and the Condensed MSAS (CMSAS).
There are very few symptom assessment instruments in Chinese. We present the validity and reliability of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form (MSAS-SF) and the Condensed Form MSAS (CMSAS) in Chinese cancer patients. The Chinese version of the 32-item MSAS-SF, a self-report measure for assessing symptom distress and frequency in cancer patients, was administered to 256 Chinese patients with colorectal cancer at a clinical oncology outpatient unit. ⋯ The average time to complete the MSAS-SF was six minutes. The Chinese versions of the MSAS-SF and CMSAS are valid and practical measures. Further validation is needed for Chinese patients with other cancer types and with other symptom instruments.