Journal of pain and symptom management
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Topical capsaicin has been studied in a variety of conditions by uncontrolled and controlled trials. It is attractive because it is a simple, safe treatment. Although these studies suggest an analgesic effect, even placebo-controlled trials have been impossible to blind due to the burning sensation induced by the capsaicin. ⋯ A careful scrutiny of the results of these trials to date as well as clinical experience indicate at best a modest effect with the currently available preparations with many patients failing to find relief, finding the relief unsatisfactory, or being unable to tolerate the burning sensation. Occasional patients appear to have a very good result, and these unusual cases may not be reflected by clinical trials. Topical capsaicin is generally not satisfactory as a sole therapy for chronic painful conditions, although it may serve as an adjuvant to other approaches.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 1994
Cold-pressor pain tolerance in opiate and cocaine abusers: correlates of drug type and use status.
The objective of this study was to describe pain tolerance in drug abusers. Research suggests that drug dependence and pain perception share common neuroanatomical and neurophysiological substrates; thus the abuse of psychoactive drugs was hypothesized to relate to pain tolerance. We examined cold-pressor pain tolerance in 122 male, current and former opioid and cocaine abusers, across use status and primary drug of abuse. ⋯ Two-way analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for using status, indicating that current drug use is associated with decreased pain tolerance. The main effect for drug type approached significance, implying that persons who abuse opioids manifest less pain tolerance than cocaine users. The findings emphasize the importance of studying pain tolerance and drug abuse as interrelated phenomena.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 1994
A retrospective study of risk factors of akathisia in terminally ill patients.
Akathisia is a distressing disorder that manifests as a state of restlessness and motor agitation. We aim to highlight the problem of akathisia to the palliative care physician by identifying and quantifying risk factors in the terminally ill. A retrospective case-control study was utilized to investigate risk factors for akathisia. ⋯ Other significant variables were exposure to morphine (OR, 5.3; 95% CI, 1.9-14.2), sodium valproate (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.0-6.4), and sodium bicarbonate/tartrate (Ural) (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.2-15.3). Highlighting factors that predispose patients to akathisia emphasizes that this syndrome should not be forgotten when treating the terminally ill. It is recommended that those drugs identified should be judicially used and carefully monitored.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 1994
Prevalence and pattern of symptoms in patients with cancer pain: a prospective evaluation of 1635 cancer patients referred to a pain clinic.
In a prospective study, the prevalence of 15 physical symptoms and symptom groups was evaluated in 1635 cancer patients referred to a pain clinic. In addition to pain, patients suffered an average of 3.3 symptoms: insomnia (59%), anorexia (48%), constipation (33%), sweating (28%), nausea (27%), dyspnea (24%), dysphagia (20%), neuropsychiatric symptoms (20%), vomiting (20%), urinary symptoms (14%), dyspepsia (11%), paresis (10%), diarrhea (6%), pruritus (6%), and dermatological symptoms (3%). While symptom prevalence was influenced by tumor site, pain intensity, and opioid treatment, only a minor relationship was seen between symptoms and gender, age, or tumor stage. The data emphasize that it is not sufficient to simply address pain during the treatment of patients with cancer pain; a more global approach to symptom management is necessary.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 1994
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe dose-response relationship of controlled-release codeine (Codeine Contin) in chronic cancer pain.
The improved pain control provided by regular dosing of opioid analgesics in patients with severe cancer pain has been well established. However, the treatment of mild-to-moderate cancer pain is often limited to "as needed" dosing with fixed combinations of codeine or oxycodone plus a nonopioid analgesic, which do not allow optimal titration of the individual components. This randomized double-blind study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of controlled-release codeine (Codeine Contin) in patients with cancer pain, and to estimate its dose equivalence to a standard combination of acetaminophen plus codeine. ⋯ The sum of pain intensity differences (SPID) from baseline and the total pain relief (TOTPAR) scores demonstrated a dose-response relationship for Codeine Contin on days 1 and 4 that was statistically significant on day 1 and suggested greater analgesic efficacy on day 4, compared with day 1. Codeine Contin 150 mg every 12 hr was estimated to be equianalgesic to acetaminophen plus codeine (600 mg/60 mg) given every 6 hr. Because a similar equivalence was also demonstrated from analysis of adverse event data, it is concluded that Codeine Contin 150 mg produces analgesia and a side-effect profile similar to a 40% lower dose of codeine provided by the combination.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)